>
Category

Business

The latest published reporting in this category.

Finance

Don’t let Poundland owner maximise its return at our expense, suppliers say

British companies that supply US-owned budget retailer face millions of pounds’ worth of losses if it collapses Suppliers facing millions of pounds in losses if Poundland collapses have said the chain’s US owner should not be permitted to maximise its return at their expense, as ministers attempt to intervene in the situation. The fate of the retail chain, its 12,000 staff and about 2,000 suppliers remains uncertain after it filed a notice of intention to appoint administrators at the high court last Thursday. Continue reading...

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

CVS Health to split pharmacy chain from health insurance

CVS Pharmacy will be separate from CVS Health, housing major insurer Aetna and benefits manager Caremark CVS Health, the largest US healthcare conglomerate valued at $117bn, has announced its plans split off its pharmacy chain from its health insurance and benefits businesses, ending an era in which healthcare companies grew into vast conglomerates. In their announcement on Wednesday, CVS Health said they will split off its 9,000 pharmacies, in-store clinics and mail order prescription business into a business named CVS Pharmacy. Continue reading...

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

‘It’s just vape shops, nail shops, charity shops’: can anything save the British high street?

It’s 20 years since Jo and Richard Hill bought anything in Rotherham town centre. Why have they and so many locals abandoned it for the nearest retail park – and what would it take to change their minds? On 22 May 1987, retail history was made in Rotherham. Parkgate Retail World, thought at the time to be the UK’s largest open-air shopping centre, welcomed shoppers for some one-stop retail therapy. The official opening was marked in swanky fashion with a “breathtaking” display from Marlboro’s red-and-white branded biplanes, followed by a “spectacular” laser show, the first in South Yorkshire.

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

The worst two words in the dead of night? ‘Motorway closed’ | Adrian Chiles

You are shunted into side streets, crawling along, united with your fellow drivers in wordless despair. Last week, at 2am, my spirit broke The worst three words in the transport lexicon are often said to be “rail”, “replacement” and “bus”, in that order. But there’s worse. “Motorway closed” is worse. At least with rail replacement buses you get fair warning, on booking apps and whatnot. You can resolve to embrace the pain or, more likely, abandon the journey. Motorway closures, in the dead of night, invariably come as a nasty surprise. Waze, Google Maps, Apple Maps, etc can reliably get you fr

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

UK interest rates increase expected after services sector activity accelerates

Purchasing manager’s index at eight-month high, bolstered by spending on AI as firms regain momentum lost to Iran war The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates on Thursday after a closely watched survey showed growth across the UK’s services sector leapt last month to an eight-month high, bolstered by spending on artificial intelligence. S&P Global’s survey of the services sector in October showed businesses regained much of the momentum they lost after the start of the Iran war, but also felt the impact of a renewed spurt of input price inflation, which accelerated to a five-mon

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

M&S boss bemoans last week’s budget as ‘whole lot of nothing’

Stuart Machin hits out at Labour but welcomes expected UK-EU food deal as retailer reveals half-year results The chief executive of Marks & Spencer has called John Healey’s first budget as chancellor a “whole lot of nothing” and bemoaned an “onslaught of taxation and regulation” from the Labour government despite welcoming an expected deal on EU border checks. Stuart Machin said he was disappointed at last week’s budget statement, adding that it “didn’t really address the issues we need to focus on growth”. He said the chancellor’s “real terms” freeze on business rates, for example, would lead

The Guardian
Read more
Finance

BMW warns on profits as it counts cost of plan for 8,000 job cuts

German carmaker slashes profit margin to between -0.5% and 0.5% this year in face of competition from China The German carmaker BMW has issued its second profit warning in a year, blaming the costs of a restructuring programme including significant job losses in the face of continuing competition from China. The company is the latest to issue a profit downgrade in the German car sector, after Mercedes-Benz last week cut its profit outlook. Western automakers have struggled to keep pace with lower-cost Chinese rivals, which has led to reduced sales in China and a rise in Chinese exports to Euro

The Guardian
Read more