This Week: PMIs, Morrisons, Next, US unemployment, Fed, M&S January 4, 2021 City A.M. looks at the first business week of 2021 with Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets UK. Monday: UK PMIs for December Flash numbers in the middle of December were surprisingly encouraging, with manufacturing rising to 57.3. “No doubt due to some pre-Brexit stockpiling. services also managed to rebound a touch, coming [...]
Sajid Javid weighing up tax raid on high earners February 8, 2020 Sajid Javid is considering a tax raid on higher earners in his March budgets to help fund Boris Johnson’s plan to “level up” the economy. The chancellor is said to be committed to making the tax system “fair and efficient”. Insiders have told the Financial Times, Javid is weighing up reforms that would hit the [...]
Chancellor and Prime Minister to thrash out details of Budget as March deadline stays February 18, 2020 The new chancellor Rishi Sunak will meet Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Westminster tomorrow, as the pair thrash out the details of next month’s Budget. Sunak, who was parachuted into the role on Thursday after Sajid Javid’s surprise resignation, confirmed this morning that the Budget will be going ahead on 11 March, despite the shake-up [...]
Strike on the cards for Royal Mail workers despite pay rise offer February 21, 2020 Royal Mail’s workers are set for its first national strike in a decade as the postal service’s largest union said it could call a stoppage as early as next month. Yesterday Royal Maul proposed a six per cent three-year pay deal to the Communications Workers Union in a bid to avoid such strike action. However, [...]
McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt on a difficult year and an electrified future October 19, 2020 We have coffee with McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt, discussing the new 765LT, a "horrible" year and McLaren’s plugged-in hybrid future.
When will the UK economy recover from coronavirus? May 15, 2020 The UK economy is set for its worst contraction since at least the Great Depression this year as the coronavirus lockdown brings activity to a halt. There’s little doubt about that. There is doubt about what comes next, however. Economists have made huge numbers of predictions, using an array of letters to describe the recovery. [...]
British Airways: Five things you need to know as IAG reports £1.5bn loss May 7, 2020 British Airways owner IAG this morning reported a total first quarter loss of €1.8bn (£1.5bn), saying that it was currently operating 94 per cent down on its total passenger capacity. More worryingly, it said that it expected the second quarter’s results to be far worse, and warned that passenger demand would not return to pre-coronavirus [...]
Wizz Air grows passenger numbers amid route expansion July 2, 2019 Low cost airline Wizz Air has posted a 19 per cent increase in passenger numbers for June as a string of new routes continues to drive growth. Read more: Wizz Air profits rise as it expects higher fuel costs to push up 2020 earnings The Budapest-based company also increased its average capacity by 1.7 percentage [...]
IR35: ‘Damaging’ tax changes set to hit self-employed workers July 11, 2019 Self-employed workers face paying controversial new taxes from next year as part of a measure that is set to rake in more than £3bn for the taxman. New ‘off-payroll’ rules to tax sole traders as employees if their working arrangement are deemed to be akin to regular staff will likely hit roughly 170,000 private sector [...]
Marston’s cheers rise in profits after strong easter May 15, 2019 Pub giant Marston’s posted a bump in underlying revenues and profits today, as a strong Easter showing bolstered the group’s half-year trading performance. Shares in the brewery giant, which operates more than 1,500 pubs in the UK, rose five per cent in late-morning trading. Read more: Pub operator Ei Group’s profits rise thanks to drinks [...]