Sterling hits lowest level against global currencies since 2016 August 6, 2019 The pound has fallen against the world’s biggest currencies to its lowest point since the so-called flash crash of late 2016. Read more: Sterling tanks to 28-month low on no-deal Brexit fears The Bank of England’s effective exchange rate index today sank below the most recent low point of August 2017, when a tussle over [...]
Sluggish economic growth to continue as demand for lending falls May 28, 2019 The UK economy’s sluggish growth shows no signs of letting up, with all three major lending classes set to grow less than two per cent this year, new figures have revealed. Despite an uptick in real incomes, demand for consumer credit is forecast to grow just 1.6 per cent this year and two per cent [...]
Gloomy UK consumers see confidence at the lowest level since Brexit referendum aftermath November 24, 2017 Confidence among British consumers fell sharply to its lowest level since the aftermath of the Brexit vote in November amid a worsening outlook for household finances and nerves around the housing market after interest rates rose. The consumer confidence measure published today by Yougov and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) will show [...]
Cold weather dampens May retail sales June 20, 2019 Retail sales suffered a setback last month as volumes dropped 0.5 per cent month-on-month driven by unseasonably cold weather. Sales were up 2.3 per cent compared to May last year, representing the smallest annual rise since October 2018. Read more: Mullberry swings to a loss on tough UK retail market In April the year-on-year increase [...]
UK house price growth slows in May amid Brexit uncertainty May 31, 2019 Annual growth of UK house prices remained below one per cent for the sixth consecutive month in May, as political uncertainty continued to weigh on the property market. Prices fell 0.2 per cent month-on month, while annual house price growth slowed to 0.6 per cent, falling from 0.9 per cent in April and below the [...]
Galliford Try expects profits to be in line with expectations July 17, 2019 Galliford Try said today that the restructuring of its construction arm has been completed and pre-tax profits for the year are set to be in line with expectations. The FTSE 250 giant, which has been cutting its exposure to Central London’s subdued housing market and scaling back its core construction business, seemed to ease investor [...]
Vodafone commits to using Huawei equipment in its 5G network May 14, 2019 Vodafone will use Huawei equipment in non-core parts of its 5G infrastructure when it launches the high-speed network in July. A spokesperson for Vodafone confirmed the telecoms company will go ahead with plans to use Huawei technology in non-core parts of the network such as radio antennas, but said the Chinese firm would not participate [...]
UK stocks 2020: Which shares are City A.M. staff backing in the new year? December 30, 2019 The UK stock market looks set to end the year on a high after the Tories’ election win and progress in US-China trade talks alleviated the uncertainty that has weighed on markets for months. But the road ahead is far from clear, with the looming Brexit date of 31st January and various upcoming trade negotiations [...]
B&M to open 50 UK stores this year despite retail doom and gloom May 23, 2019 Discount retailer B&M said today it plans to open 50 shops this year, despite the wider gloom in the UK retail sector. B&M grew revenue 17 per cent to £3.4bn and profit before tax 8.7 per cent to £249.4m in the 52 weeks to 30 March. The company said it opened 44 new stores in the financial [...]
UK business confidence lowest since 2012 as output drops for first time in 2019, says BDO May 13, 2019 Business optimism in the UK fell to its lowest rate since 2012 in April, according to a report released today, in a sign that the Brexit extension has done little to cheer up the country’s gloomy businesses. Read more: UK economy bounces back, but is growth just a ‘flash in the pan’? UK business output [...]