Market Buzz
Monday newspaper round-up: UK airports, British ports, business confidence, GSK
The Trades Union Congress and Heathrow have called on the government to cover UK airports’ operating costs while travel bans are in place, and to extend the furlough scheme for as long as public health measures affect aviation, in a joint call for “survival support”. They said the demand for financial help and other measures were a matter of survival for businesses in the sector, after a budget in which Heathrow accused the chancellor of ignoring aviation and failing to understand the sector’s role.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Greensill, Card Factory, ITV
Steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta owes an estimated £4 billion to stricken Australian finance house Greensill and some of the world’s biggest lenders. Analysis of the industrialist’s spending and borrowing spree over several years reveals that he owes more than £3 billion alone to Greensill, the business that fuelled his growth spree but is now on the brink of administration. - Sunday Times.
Friday newspaper round-up: Greensill Capital, Marks & Spencer, freeports
Business leaders have criticised Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary, for shutting down the Industrial Strategy Council, the government’s in-house thinktank plotting the regeneration of Britain’s hard-pressed regions. The decision to disband the council, which was led by the Bank of England’s chief economist, Andy Haldane, was called a “sad and bad” decision by Matthew Taylor, the chief executive of the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Sainsbury's, Ryanair, Amazon
Sainsbury’s is to cut 500 head office jobs while another 650 jobs are at risk as the supermarket closes one of its online grocery packing centres. The UK’s second largest supermarket will also close offices in Coventry and Victoria in London and move out of two of the five remaining floors it occupies at its London head office in Holborn, another two floors at its Avebury office in Milton Keynes and one in Manchester as many staff permanently switch to working part-time from home.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Guarantor loans complaints, Greensill Capital, Blackstone boss
Complaints to the financial ombudsman about a type of high-cost loan where the debt is backed by a relative or friend have leapt by more than 3,000% in a year and are running at almost 800 a week. The surge in the number of unhappy customers means that sub-prime lender Amigo – the biggest provider of so-called guarantor loans – has become the UK’s most complained-about financial firm, according to the latest data. - Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: FCA, Greensill Capital, Klarna
City firms revealed in the final months of 2020 that they planned to shift nearly £100bn in assets to the EU, taking the total value of assets lost to the bloc since the Brexit vote to £1. 3 trillion, according to a new survey. The data from consulting group EY pointed to a last-minute push by firms before 31 December after the UK-EU trade deal did not offer concessions for the UK’s dominant financial services sector. It forced companies to move staff and assets to the continent in order to continue serving EU customers.
Monday newspaper round-up: Uber, hospitality reopening, Spacs
Uber has been accused of using “loaded questions” in a consultation with drivers, after a landmark court ruling handed workers rights to improved conditions. The firm may have to pay out over £100m in compensation to 10,000 drivers, after the UK supreme court ruled last week they are entitled to holiday pay, a company pension and the national minimum wage. Uber has previously argued that its 60,000 UK drivers are self-employed independent contractors with limited employment rights.