RETAIL
All Wilko stores to shut with the likely loss of 12,500 jobs. After weeks of speculation, it is understood that all 400 shops of beleaguered discount retailer Wilko will now close by early October, with the loss of thousands of jobs, according to the GMB Union. The news comes after a rescue deal involving the owner of HMV collapsed.
COMPANY
UK shareholders of larger, listed companies are enjoying the biggest returns in over two decades, according to data from Goldman Sachs. The investment banking firm says this has been driven by a combination of dividends and net buybacks which has pushed up total shareholder return to around 6%. A lack of IPOs and other stock sales has also limited the number of shares in the market, boosting yield.
ECONOMY
The pound has soared above $1.25 for the first time in a week, following comments by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen about a ‘soft economic landing for the US.’ But Sterling’s trade against the Dollar will likely see some ‘UK-induced volatility on Tuesday when the ONS releases its latest jobs and wage figures.’
The EU has downgraded growth forecasts and raised inflation expectations, with the region set to expand by just 0.8% this year and 1.4% in 2024, according to European Commission figures. The news comes as higher prices and a shrinking German economy are denting consumer spending and factory output across the EU.
TECH
AI is set to “empower” the big tech companies even more, warned News Corporation CEO Robert Thomson, speaking at a technology conference in San Francisco last week. He predicts it will create a “tsunami” of job losses at publishers, as the speed at which search engines (such as Google) have gained influence over news distribution will be “amplified many times over in the era of AI.”
FINANCE
Insolvency firms in the UK are understood to be facing a government crackdown, with the sector set to be formally regulated for the first time under new reforms due to be announced next week. The new regulations will mean that firms, as well as individuals, could face sanctions for misconduct.
DATA
The supermarket’s next big product is your data! Personalised online and in-store advertising could prove very profitable for retail chains. Customer loyalty programmes, rich in first-party data, offer a brilliant opportunity for retailers to sell advertising to consumer goods companies desperate for targeted marketing and measurable returns. Great news for retailers, bad news for the likes of Meta as industry media spend gets shifted through to e-retail.
ENERGY
The UK government’s decarbonisation aims have taken a battering. A recent subsidised auction of renewable energy programmes, aimed at attracting entrepreneurs within the sector, has been described as a “flop.” With the auction price too low for many, who fear for costs, making the government’s aims for 50 GW of offshore wind in operation, by 2030 seem like a distant pipedream.
PROPERTY
British high street retailers, including M&S and Schuh, have called for a freeze on the Chancellor’s proposed £400m hike in business rate bills, expected to be announced in the Autumn Statement (22 November). The BRC (British Retail Consortium) said the retail industry pays over £7bn a year in business rates, and this is set to jump in April – in line with the September inflation figures – expected to be over 6%.
MARKETS
In a deal that further cements the ties between fashion, music and entertainment, Kering Group, which owns brands including Gucci and Saint Laurent, has inked a deal to buy Hollywood talent firm CAA, Creative Artists Agency. Financial terms were not disclosed, but CAA’s valuation was reported to be as high as $7 billion, up from the $5.5 billion last year when it acquired ICM Partners, according to Bloomberg.
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