LIVE BUSINESS: John Lewis narrows losses to £55m
Updated: 16:25 BST, 14 September 2023
The FTSE 100 is up 1.7 per cent in afternoon trading. Today, John Lewis Partnership, MJ Gleeson, THG, M&C Saatchi, Grafton Group, and Trainline all released their reports and trading updates. Read the Business Live blog for Thursday, 14 September below.
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The Footsie closes soon
Just before close, the FTSE 100 was 2.02% up at 7,677.99.
Meanwhile, the FTSE 250 was 1.23% higher at 18,790.17.
Google lays off HUNDREDS of recruiters in another round of job cuts
Google announced another round of layoffs on Wednesday, cutting staff members from its global recruiting division.
The latest move in the ‘tech wreck’ comes nine months after the company cut 12,000 jobs, about six percent of its workforce, back in January.
M&C Saatchi swings to a loss as tech firms pull back ad budgets
M&C Saatchi swung to a first-half loss following a significant decline in spending by the ad group’s technology clients in the UK and US.
The advertising agency posted a £5.1million statutory pre-tax loss for the six months ending June, compared to a £305,000 profit in the same period last year.
THG shares tumble on growing losses
THG shares tumbled over 24 per cent on Thursday after the group unveiled widening pre-tax losses and dwindling revenues.
The group’s pre-tax losses widened from £108million to £133million in the six months to 30 June.
More than £2billion is wiped from BP’s share price after boss resigns
More than £2billion was wiped from BP’s share price as investors reeled over the shock departure of disgraced ex-boss Bernard Looney.
Mr Looney quit the oil giant on Tuesday after he admitted misleading the board over past relationships with colleagues.
Arm Holdings is valued at $54.5bn in biggest initial public offering since late 2021
U.K. chip designer Arm Holdings is scheduled to start trading on the Nasdaq Thursday, in what is the largest initial public offering of shares in nearly two years.
The shares have been priced at $51, giving Arm a market value of $54.5billion. The opening trade could be much higher, given the interest among investors in the offering.
Most consumers use at least one product that contains Arm’s chips, though many people may not be familiar with the company itself. Its chip design is used in virtually all smartphones, the majority of tablets and digital TVs. More recently, Arm has expanded into artificial intelligence, smart devices, cloud computing, the metaverse, and autonomous driving.
Arm’s offering is an important development for the IPO market, which has seen relatively few companies go public the past two years. It’s also a key moment for the Japanese technology investor Softbank, which acquired Arm in 2016, as well as investment banks such as Goldman Sachs that recently have taken in far less revenue from underwriting and advisory fees.
Softbank will retain a nearly 90% stake in Arm. It´s the biggest IPO since the electric truck maker Rivian debuted in November 2021 with a market value of more than $66billion.
European Central Bank raises interest rates to record high
The European Central Bank has hiked interest rates to an all-time high of 4 per cent.
Richard Carter, head of fixed interest research at Quilter Cheviot, reacts: The European Central Bank has, it appears, decided that 4% is the level it feels comfortable with allowing interest rates to climb to and help bring inflation down.
Many market participants expected it to hold today and move into a wait and see pattern with the data, but it clearly sees the need to hike once more now before joining the Federal Reserve in an extended pause. Given where inflation is across the Eurozone, it is perhaps not a surprise it has chosen to once again raise rates. Inflation is not expected to return to target until 2025 and as such the ECB will be looking to put enough pressure on the economy, businesses and consumers to dampen demand.
Car makers accused of prioritising expensive electric SUVs for profit
Car makers have been accused of refusing to bring small, affordable electric cars to market because they want to prioritise expensive battery-powered SUVs that make them bigger profits.
Manufacturers could sell compact electric vehicles (EVs) built in Europe for £21,000 and still pocket a profit but instead are focusing on large SUVs that are ‘too big and bulky for British roads’ but offer greater margins, says Transport & Environment.
Hilton Food agrees supply deal with Walmart
Hilton Food Group shares soared on Thursday after the FTSE 250 group signed a deal with Walmart to supply the retail giant’s Canadian hypermarket stores.
The food packaging business revealed it would build a new manufacturing plant in Eastern Canada that will deliver various meat products, beginning with beef, lamb, pork, and seafood, to Walmart ‘supercentres’.
Cheap Chinese electric cars under investigation by the EU
The European Commission has launched an investigation into the Chinese electric vehicle (EV) sector in the wake of concerns from EU car makers that they are gaining an unfair ‘competitive edge’ thanks to their government-subsidised cheaper prices.
A raft of new Chinese brands have entered the European car market in recent months and their cut-price costs mean their battery cars are often less expensive than equivalents from brands in the bloc.
Surge in missed bill payments
Britain saw a 14 per cent rise in missed bill payments last month, hitting the second-highest rate on record and pointing to growing financial strain on households, fresh data from the Office for National Statistics shows.
The percentage of failed direct debits – mostly used for utility bills or mortgage and credit card repayments – rose from 0.82 per cent in July to 0.83 per cent in August, the second-highest rate in monthly records, which started in January 2019.
A year earlier, in August 2022, 0.73 per cent of direct debits failed. The peak in the series was in January, at 0.94 per cent, reflecting a post-Christmas spike as households ran out of money in their current accounts.
Lidl GB sinks to £76m loss as costs and staff wages rise
The British arm of German discount supermarket Lidl sunk to a £75.9million loss in its last fiscal year, having been stung by higher costs and wages.
In the year to 28 February, Lidl GB saw its revenue rise by 19 per cent to £9.3billion, claiming to have added 1.5million customers in the process.
Hipgnosis to sell catalogues featuring Shakira and Nelly
London-listed Hipgnosis Songs Fund will sell some catalogues featuring tracks from the likes of pop stars Shakira in efforts to boost the investment trust’s share price.
The music catalogues investor will see the portfolio of songs to a partnership between its investment adviser and funds advised by Blackstone for $465million (£372million).
Trainline lines-up £50m share buyback as sales accelerate
Trainline shares soared on Tuesday after the group revealed a £50million share buyback following better-than-anticipated growth in the first half.
The digital railcard platform’s net ticket sales increased by 23 per cent to £2.65billion for the six months ending August, while turnover rose by nearly a fifth to £197million.
Is cash back? Five ways how we spend our money is changing
The way we spend our money is changing. While Britons may be spending more using debit cards, there has been a surprise resurgence of cash – but cheques are on life support.
Bank trade body UK Finance said there were 45.7billion payments in total in 2022, of which 39.5billion were made by consumers and the rest by businesses.
Housebuilder MJ Gleeson sees profit fall
Housebuilder MJ Gleeson’s profits have been hammered by economic volatility and worsening consumer confidence.
In the year to the end of June, the group’s pre-tax profit fell by 43.2 per cent to £31.5million, while revenue slipped 12.1 per cent to £328.3million.
Axe the triple lock and come up with a guarantee MPs can stick to
A guarantee is only as good as the people giving it to you.
This consumer advice truism explains in part why the triple lock is in such a muddle.
‘Focus will be on the all-important festive period when John Lewis typically enjoys a seasonal boost’
Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor: ‘The cost-of-living crisis with a softer consumer backdrop means John Lewis shoppers are holding off from spending on expensive big-ticket items like white goods and technology. However, they are still spending on cheaper items like fashion and beauty. ‘In Waitrose,…
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