Friday newspaper round-up: Retail sales, London property prices, Royal Mail
British high streets endured a fourth Christmas of falling sales as shoppers switched to buying gifts online from the comfort of their sofa. Underlying sales dipped 0.1% in December, after a 5.3% fall in the same month in 2015, as clothing retailers had a particularly tough year, said the consultancy firm BDO. – Guardian
Higher taxes and jitters over the EU referendum pushed down high-end London property prices last year as sellers accepted more “realistic” offers, according to upmarket estate agent Savills. But while owners of multimillion-pound London homes were forced to rein in their expectations, housebuilder Persimmon reported rising revenues from sales of less expensive homes around the country. – Guardian
The boss of Wall Street giant JP Morgan has warned the French president that the country is unlikely to lure banking jobs away from London after Brexit unless the nation overhauls employment legislation. Jamie Dimon, JP Morgan’s respected chief executive, is said to have told Francois Hollande in October that France must loosen its tight labour laws, which currently make it difficult for banks to recruit and shed staff, if Paris is to rival London as a financial hub. – Telegraph
Trade unions at Royal Mail are threatening the first national strike in eight years after plans to ditch its final-salary pension scheme were revealed. The company said that it intended to close the defined benefit retirement scheme for 90,000 workers in 2018 and move them to a defined contribution plan. – The Times
The Bank of England’s chief economist has conceded that the economic establishment is “in some degree of crisis” after its recent forecasting failures. Andy Haldane said the profession’s models had been “fragile” and “ill equipped” as he also admitted to mistakes in the Bank’s predictions of a sharp slowdown after Brexit. – The Times