Category: Business

The Bank of England expects a rapid rebound of the UK economy later this year as the vaccination programme takes effect, but also announced moves to introduce negative interest rates if the recovery falters. The Bank forecast a 4.2% slump in the first quarter, followed by a resurgence of economic activity as vaccinations allow the […]

Britain needs an economic strategy for the next decade to match the ambition of the 1945 postwar recovery as the country emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, the new head of the CBI said. In his first keynote speech as director general of the business group, Tony Danker said the “triple shocks” of Brexit, coronavirus and […]

The government is under mounting pressure to plug gaps in its emergency coronavirus wage subsidy schemes at the March budget to support millions of self-employed people and other workers excluded from furlough. MPs and campaign groups said the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, had repeatedly ducked opportunities to fix gaps in furlough and the self-employed income support […]

Unilever has said expanding its range of plant-based foods is one of its new strategic priorities as the FTSE 100 company zooms in on the fastest-growing consumer markets. The group, which is behind household names such as Ben & Jerry’s ice-cream, Marmite and Dove soap, wants to have a €1bn(£865m)-a-year plant-based foods business in five […]

Just over 90,000 new cars were sold in the UK in the slowest January for more than 50 years, according to industry figures released on Thursday. Sales fell 40% compared with January 2020 to 90,249, as the closure of car showrooms under lockdown compounded the economic gloom. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) […]

Waterstones has told staff that furloughed workers will not receive any increase to their wages until shops can reopen, after a petition was launched calling on the book chain to help workers who are being paid below minimum wage on the scheme. A petition signed by more than 1,500 people so far, including more than […]

People who bet even relatively small sums are more likely to suffer financial hardship and unemployment, while heavier gamblers die earlier, according to a landmark study analysing data from millions of bank customers. In a report thought to be the largest of its kind carried out in the UK, academics tracked the links between gambling […]