Sunak pledges £100m ‘world leader’ AI boost as firms wooed at business summit April 24, 2023 Prime minister Rishi Sunak has insisted his government is undertaking “the most transformative changes to financial services regulations since the Big Bang”. Sunak insisted the Financial Services and Markets Bill was a “very significant piece of legislation”. He pledged that once the law was implemented, Solvency II reforms would “unlock tens of billions of pounds [...]
Burberry sales down 50 per cent as coronavirus spreads globally March 19, 2020 Luxury British brand Burberry this morning warned that sales have halved as coronavirus has decimated consumer demand. Sales have dropped between 40 per cent to 50 per cent since 24 January, as the outbreak has spread across the world, forcing Burberry to close around 40 per cent of its stores globally. In Europe, the Middle [...]
FTSE 100 close: London subdued on quiet earnings day as YouGov mulls US listing August 14, 2023 London’s FTSE 100 started the week in subdued fashion, as a quiet earnings day was overshadowed by reports that YouGov is mulling a US listing. The capital’s premier blue chip index closed the day on 7,495.24 points, down 0.88 per cent, while the FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the domestic economy, was [...]
Gucci owner bags a stellar year outperforming pre-pandemic profits February 17, 2022 The owner of brands including Gucci and Yves Saint Laurent announced that profit topped pre-Covid levels in 2021 as luxury designers craft a comeback. The French firm Kering reported net profit of €3.2bn (£2.7bn) last year – up 37 per cent on 2019 – while revenues hit a record €17.6bn. Gucci led the way, bagging [...]
Retailer sell off drags down London indexes April 6, 2022 A retailer sell off caused by concerns over a pull back in spending amid a tight cost of living squeeze led London’s top indexes lower today. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index dropped 0.34 per cent to 7,587.70 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on stocks, China and Spiderman June 6, 2023 The notebook is a place where interesting people say interesting things. Today, it’s Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor The market mood is picking up with the S&P 500 enjoying its best week since March. The Dow surged over 2% on Friday, its biggest one-day gain since January and the Nasdaq Composite completed [...]
Exclusive: FTSE100 companies grossly overestimate their performance on diversity, equity and inclusion May 17, 2022 Nearly two years on from the BLM protests, companies of all sizes are failing to enact the cultural and operational changes that they promised at the time. An audit of the FTSE100 by agility firm Agility in Mind found that despite almost all (99 per cent) having an inclusive mission statement, less than half (48 [...]
Mark Kleinman: The inquest into Wilko’s demise has only just begun September 14, 2023 Mark Kleinman is City editor at Sky News Inquest into Wilko’s demise has only just begun Few things elicit British consumers’ sentimentality like the imminent disappearance of a once-proud high street name. For Woolworths in 2009 and BHS in 2016, read Wilko in 2023. The sad fate of more than 10,000 employees at the family-owned [...]
Mining and retail stocks push FTSE 100 into the green after Christmas shopping boost December 29, 2022 The FTSE 100 has been given a boost by its top retail stocks as investors cashed in on the post-Christmas sales shopping, and as China is set to ease its Covid restrictions for inbound travellers from January 8. Among the top performers on London’s leading index on Wednesday were JD Sports Fashion, Next, Kingfisher and [...]
Love it or loathe it, VAT free shopping only makes our tax system even more unwieldy March 7, 2023 If you want to give luxury stores a leg up at the expense of local businesses and create an even more complicated tax system - VAT free shopping is for you, writes Ben Ramanauskas.