UK business sentiment hits 12-month low amid supply chain and inflation woes November 15, 2021 British business sentiment dropped to its lowest level in a year in October, dragged down by fears of looming inflation and supply chain pressures that could undermine a sustained recovery from Covid disruption. Inflation expectations among UK business leaders surge to a record high last month, with 66 per cent expecting non-staff costs to increase [...]
UK government set to launch national security probe into Nvidia’s $54bn takeover of ARM November 14, 2021 Ministers are lining up a full-blown national security investigation into Nvidia’s planned $54bn takeover of British chip designer ARM, after months of negotiations between regulators and the US chip company. The investigation is likely to be announced on Tuesday week, after digital and culture secretary Nadine Dorries orders a “phase 2” probe into Nvidia’s acquisition [...]
Exclusive: Half of all Brits no longer trust tech giants with their personal data November 12, 2021 Nearly half of Britons no longer trust Big Tech companies to safeguard their personal data, according to new research that was shared exclusively with City A.M. today. Only one in four Brits believe Big Tech firms have their best interests at heart, according to a survey by cloud solution provider NexGen Cloud. This comes amid reports that [...]
Labour calls for Deloitte to be sacked from Test and Trace inquiry role November 12, 2021 The Labour party has called for audit giant Deloitte to be stripped of its contract to prepare NHS Test and Trace for a government inquiry into the handling of the pandemic, accusing it of a “blatant conflict of interest”. Since the onset of the pandemic, Deloitte has won contracts advising the NHS Test and Trace [...]
Luxury group Richemont in talks with Farfetch to shed stake in lossmaking Net-a-Porter November 12, 2021 Swiss luxury goods group Richemont is in “advanced talks” with the UK’s Farfetch over a deal to sell on its minority stake in the lossmaking Yoox Net-a-Porter (YNAP) online luxury retailer. It’s a move that is likely to butter up investors that have long been critical of its stake in YNAP, which has lost its [...]
Universities pay vice-chancellors more than £500,000 as generous packages include bonuses and benefits November 12, 2021 Three universities in England paid their vice-chancellors £500,000 or more in salary, bonuses and benefits last year, figures show. Data from the Office for Students (OfS) shows that 1.8% of university staff received a basic salary of £100,000 or more in the academic year 2019/20 – up slightly from 1.7% in 2018/19. But the proportion [...]
Global luxury market on track to beat pre-Covid sales this year – but Europe lags behind November 11, 2021 The global luxury goods sector is set for a powerful rebound and will outperform pre-pandemic levels this year, but Europe lags behind in the absence of tourists’ purses, consultancy Bain has said. Global sales of personal luxury goods – which include fashion, cosmetics, perfumes, watches, handbags and jewellery – are set to reach €283bn (£242bn) this [...]
OECD ranking: The award for the country with the world’s most competitive tax system goes to… November 11, 2021 Estonia tops the rankings in a new report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that was published today by the Tax Foundation, a tax policy non-profit in the U.S. The ranking zooms in on the the most competitive tax regimes around the world. Estonia’s top score is driven by a 20 per [...]
London’s drinking: Capital on the way back as Young’s toasts a healthy recovery November 11, 2021 Pub chain Young’s announced it would restart its dividend this morning after a healthy set of half-year results suggested the historic operator’s recovery is well on the way. Adjusted operating profit hit a healthy £27.1m in the six months to the end of September despite ‘lockdown’ and later restrictions on numbers still being in place. [...]
Taylor Wimpey on track to meet guidance, unscathed by supply chain concerns November 11, 2021 British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey this morning said it was on track to deliver full year results in line with previous guidance, after strong housing demand helped it offset supply chain pressures. Although the country’s third-largest housbuilder said it had experienced industry-wide pressures on the cost and availability of certain materials and a shortage of drivers [...]