Market Buzz
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Winter blackouts, Selfridges, Richemont
Ticket sales for the Oasis reunion tour helped to increase non-essential spending by British consumers to the highest level this year in September, amid a bumper month for retailers. In a sign of resilience despite a pre-budget hit to consumer confidence, industry figures show retail sales and discretionary spending on entertainment, meals out and little luxuries rose sharply last month. – Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Retailers, Telegraph, pension funds
More than 70 retailers, including Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Ikea, are lobbying the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, for a 20% cut to business rates, warning that the property tax could force tens of thousands of shops to shut. In a letter to Reeves coordinated by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), executives are pushing the Treasury to introduce a “retail rates corrector” on the levy, which is a property-based tax charged by local councils and imposed on businesses including retailers, pubs, factories and company offices.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Climate Change, The Telegraph, Stamp duty
Humanity has failed at the goal of keeping the degree of global warming below 1. 5C. According to the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Jim Skea, the planet was on course to warm by 3C by 2100. But surface temperatures would rise by more than those of the sea. Furthermore, western Europe and the UK were at threat from even greater warming, possibly as much as 5C by the turn of the century. - The Sunday Telegraph.
Friday newspaper round-up: Electric car sales, SSE, small businesses
Rachel Reeves is paving the way for a multibillion-pound increase in public-sector investment at the budget after the government announced plans to commit almost £22bn over 25 years to fund carbon capture and storage projects. In what is expected to be one of the biggest green spending promises of the parliament, the chancellor, prime minister and the energy secretary, Ed Miliband, will unveil the details on a visit to the Liverpool city region on Friday declaring a “new era” for clean energy jobs.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Bank payments, GB News, OpenAI
Sellafield will have to pay almost £400,000 after it pleaded guilty to criminal charges over years of cybersecurity failings at Britain’s most hazardous nuclear site. The vast nuclear waste dump in Cumbria left information that could threaten national security exposed for four years, according to the industry regulator, which brought the charges. It was also found that 75% of its computer servers were vulnerable to cyber-attack. – Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: CityFibre, Covid loans, FCA
Ministers are being asked to draw up billions of pounds in cuts to infrastructure projects over the next 18 months despite Rachel Reeves pledging to invest more to grow the economy, the Guardian has learned. Members of the cabinet have been asked to model cuts to their investment plans of up to 10% of their annual capital spending as part of this month’s spending review, government sources said. – Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Tips, eBay, business confidence
Unions fear some restaurants and other businesses may slip through the net of new legislation over the fair distribution of tips and service charges that comes into force in Great Britain on Tuesday. The government said the long-planned changes would mean workers would be in line for about £200m that may otherwise have been retained by employers. Under the new rules 100% of tips – by cash or card – and any service charge levied on customers must be passed on to staff working in restaurants, cafes, hotels, hairdressers or taxi firms.