Tuesday 12 June 2018
Company news, markets and financial talking points, available from 8am Monday to Friday
Poundworld's founder could return to save the seemingly doomed bargain chain. Christopher Edwards, who sold the business in 2015, said he is considering buying back some of its stores after it fell into administration on Monday. He believes the company could be saved with fresh management. During a testing period for retail, Poundworld has struggled with weak consumer confidence, soaring overheads and the growth of online shopping.
The British economy is showing the greatest signs of stress since 2012, reports The Guardian. Recruitment firm ManpowerGroup found a net balance of only 4% of major employers are planning to hire more staff rather than cutting back. Meanwhile, Britain’s factories unexpectedly recorded the sharpest fall in output for more than five years in April.
Jaguar Land Rover will move production of its Discovery from the UK to Slovakia. In a move that could lead to job losses, Britain's biggest carmaker will transfer production early next year. Last month, the firm revealed that fourth-quarter pre-tax profit halved to £364m on revenues of £7.6bn as demand for diesel vehicles slumped. It pointed the finger of blame at uncertainty over Brexit and vehicle taxation.
National Savings and Investments has reduced the limit that people can deposit in its most popular accounts from £1 million to £10,000. The Treasury-backed savings bank cut the maximum investment allowed into its popular one-year and three-year guaranteed growth and guaranteed income bonds. It feared that it would overshoot the finance limit imposed by the chancellor, Philip Hammond.
Ryanair’s cabin crew are to be represented by a union for the first time after Unite signed an agreement with the airline. The deal will cover about 650 staff working from Ryanair’s UK bases, with the union representing them in any talks on pay, hours and holidays. Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey, said it was a "historic agreement and a significant step by Ryanair".
"The Bank’s optimism that a pick-up in growth in the second quarter will justify higher borrowing costs is based so far purely on survey evidence. This is the first hard data for the second quarter – and it is not good." Larry Elliott of The Guardian says a slump in manufacturing may stop the Bank of England raising interest rates in August.
FTSE 100: up +0.73 to 7,737.43
Dow Jones: up +0.02 to 25,322.31
Dax: up +0.60 to 12,842.91
Cac 40: up +0.43 to 5,473.91
Nikkei: up +0.42 to 22,899.99
Hang Seng: up +0.47 to 31,208.99
US dollar: buys €0.8496 and £0.7481
Sterling: buys $1.3364 and €1.1354
Oil: $76.56 up +0.13