Sunday newspaper round-up: Lockdown, Commercial property, Lloyds
Lloyds Banking Group
52.30p
16:40 26/04/24
Boris Johnson has effectively ruled out another nationwide lockdown, stating the option is now akin to a "nuclear deterrent". In an exclusive interview with The Sunday Telegraph, Mr Johnson says he "certainly" does not want another blanket shutdown, "and nor do I think we will be in that position again". The intervention, which appears to put the Prime Minister at odds with his chief scientific adviser, comes after councils were given sweeping new powers to impose 'lightning' local lockdowns in the event of further Covid-19 outbreaks. - Sunday Telegraph
Banks
4,061.31
16:59 26/04/24
FTSE 100
8,139.83
17:09 26/04/24
FTSE 350
4,470.09
16:59 26/04/24
FTSE All-Share
4,423.59
17:14 26/04/24
FTSE Small Cap
6,484.28
16:59 26/04/24
General Retailers
3,910.25
16:59 26/04/24
Ted Baker
109.80p
16:40 20/10/22
Commercial property prices look set to plunge as white-collar workers shun the office, the Treasury watchdog has warned. After employees across the country were sent to work from home in the coronavirus lockdown, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) is predicting that the value of offices and other commercial buildings will fall by nearly 14 per cent this year. The pandemic has also accelerated the decline on the High Street – hitting the value of shops – as families flock online at the expense of brick and mortar outlets. - Mail on Sunday
A trio of Lloyds' top bankers have emerged as potential successors to the outgoing boss Antonio Horta-Osorio. Horta-Osorio is quitting the bank after almost a decade at the helm, earning a total payout of more than £56million. City insiders have speculated that Vim Maru, head of Lloyds' personal banking business, could be in line to replace him. David Oldfield, head of Lloyds' business bank, and William Chalmers, the bank's finance chief, have also been named as front-runners in the race for one of the top jobs in British banking. - Mail on Sunday
While the Foreign Secretary meets his US counterpart at Downing Street on Tuesday, across the pond farm lobby groups will be ramping up the pressure to bend UK agriculture to their will ahead of a third round of trade talks. The industry is particularly influential in America, while UK consumer groups’ invitation to the Government’s new 16-member Trade and Agriculture Commission appears to have been lost in the post. - Sunday Telegraph
Britain's economic prospects for the rest of this year and into 2021 are shining brighter than the average for the Group of Seven advanced economies. According to the 37-nation club of richer countries, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UK is scoring 97.4 on a 'forward looking' index, against 96.7 for the G7 overall. - Mail on Sunday
Ted Baker is cutting more than a quarter of its UK workforce as the fashion chain battles the storm ravaging the high street. Staff were informed this month that at least 500 roles were being axed in an effort to save £6m by the end of the year. Some 200 jobs will go at the Ugly Brown Building, its London HQ, with the rest from its 46 shops and dozens of store concessions. The cuts come as Ted Baker faces an investor revolt over executive pay rises at this week’s annual meeting. - Sunday Times
The “flash” purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for July is due on Friday and is expected to give a reading above 50 — indicating expansion on June. Economists are also preparing to scrutinise retail sales data for June. It is of particular interest after GDP data for May, published last week, showed a slower-than-expected pace of recovery from the unprecedented 25% contraction caused by the Covid-19 lockdown. - Sunday Times
Restaurants struggling to make money are increasingly finding themselves at loggerheads with customers as tensions over reopening lead to rows and disagreements. July should be a month of celebration for English restaurants after a financially perilous lockdown. Yet instead of happy tales of booming dining rooms, a growing anger about no-shows, as well as a failure to pass on a VAT discount, are threatening to strain the relationship between some businesses and their customers. - Guardian
Most countries want to attract the young and the willing – entrepreneurs with ideas, students looking to learn, people prepared to do the jobs locals turn down. Greece, though, has decided on a different approach, by making a play for Europe’s retirees. [...] The initiative, laid out in a draft law to be tabled in parliament this week proposes a flat income tax rate of 7% for foreign retirees who transfer their tax residence to Greece. The incentive would be applicable for a decade. - Guardian