Business & Finance | Express Digest

MARKET REPORT: BP rises after reports of UAE bid for energy giant

By Jon Hopkins Updated: 21:50 BST, 12 April 2024 With crude prices near record highs and the dollar rising, the oil majors were always going [...]

London stock market flirts with record highs as figures suggest Britain has emerged from recession

By Hugo Duncan Updated: 21:50 BST, 12 April 2024 The London stock market flirted with record highs yesterday as figures suggested Britain has emerged from [...]

Flurry of cheaper, well-stocked Chinese cars – particularly electric – now arriving on UK shores, says RAY MASSEY

By Ray Massey Updated: 21:50 BST, 12 April 2024 A flurry of cheaper, well-stocked Chinese cars — particularly electric — is now arriving on UK [...]

Online petition demanding a vote on Nationwide’s deal to buy Virgin Money surges past 1,000 signatures

By Patrick Tooher Updated: 21:50 BST, 12 April 2024 An online petition demanding a vote on Nationwide's deal to buy Virgin Money has surged past [...]

Ben Bernanke blasts Bank of England over botched economic forecasts: But boss Andrew Bailey won’t apologise

Bernanke took aim at the Bank's 'out of date' software He also slammed 'deficiencies' when tracking future inflation levels Bernanke said a lack of investment had stopped [...]

Will state pensions ever be means tested? This is Money podcast

By This Is Money Updated: 19:56 BST, 12 April 2024 Older people received another boost to the state pension this week taking the full rate [...]

Construction sector hammered by wet weather and high interest rates – holding back UK economic growth

Construction sector output slumped 1.9% in February, according to the ONS The industry is hoping for interest rate cuts to boost demand By Mike Sheen Updated: 14:35 [...]

Royal Mint to stop making overseas coins after 700 years

Royal Mint has been making coins for overseas nations since 1325 From December 2024 the Mint will stop making foreign coins entirely By Sam Barker Updated: 12:58 [...]

FCA warns lenders to bolster cash reserves ahead of potential motor finance probe handouts

The FCA said lenders need to have 'adequate financial resources at all times'In January, the FCA began a probe into discretionary commission arrangementsBy Harry Wise [...]

Petrofac may swap a ‘significant proportion’ of debt for equity

The company is seeking to bolster its balance sheet and short-term liquidity Hedge funds have made Petrofac the most shorted stock on the London marketsBy Harry [...]

BUSINESS LIVE: UK GDP grows 0.1%; Petrofac debt restructuring talks; FCA motor finance probe warning

By Live Commentary Updated: 08:02 BST, 12 April 2024 The British economy expanded by 0.1 per cent in February, in line with expectations, fresh data [...]

Setback for Sunak as hopes of interest rate cuts fade

By Hugo Duncan Updated: 22:00 BST, 11 April 2024 Rishi Sunak’s hopes that cheaper mortgages will boost his election chances suffered a major setback yesterday [...]

FCA blasts ‘defective’ Woodford over failings before the collapse of his investment empire

By John-Paul Ford Rojas Updated: 22:00 BST, 11 April 2024 Former star stock picker Neil Woodford faces an unlimited fine and a City ban after [...]

Takeover frenzy over UK storage group Lok’nStore heats up after £378m bid

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter Updated: 22:00 BST, 11 April 2024 Storage group Lok’nStore is the latest firm to be targeted by foreign [...]

‘The ship has turned’: JP Morgan backs Marks & Spencer

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter Updated: 22:00 BST, 11 April 2024 Recovery: JP Morgan said M&S has done better than rivals in winning [...]

Lok’nStore agrees £378m takeover by Belgian rival

Shares in Aim-listed UK-based Lok'nStore surged by over 17% on Thursday By Jane Denton Updated: 09:47 BST, 11 April 2024 Lok'nStore shares rose sharply on Thursday [...]

Accounting giant KPMG fined £20m after senior partners and managers cheat in exams

By John Abiona Updated: 22:02 BST, 10 April 2024 KPMG's Dutch division was fined £20m after hundreds of its staff were found to have shared [...]

We will keep making petrol cars as long as we can, says Aston Martin boss

By Emily Hawkins Updated: 22:02 BST, 10 April 2024 Petrolhead: Aston Martin chairman Lawrence Stroll said there would ‘always’ be demand for sports cars with [...]

BAE lands new Ukraine war contract to repair light artillery guns

By Leah Montebello Updated: 22:02 BST, 10 April 2024 Defence deal: BAE Systems has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Defence to repair L119 [...]

Cardiff semiconductor firm IQE soars by a third as bosses pin their hopes on a bounceback

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter Updated: 22:01 BST, 10 April 2024 Recovery hopes: IQE - which supplies Iphone-maker Apple, said losses shrunk from [...]

US fails to slam brakes on £100bn TikTok boom as profits at Chinese owner surge

By Leah Montebello Updated: 22:01 BST, 10 April 2024 Business is booming at the Chinese owner of TikTok despite attempts in Washington to ban the [...]

BUSINESS LIVE: US inflation higher than forecast; Tesco profits near £2.8bn; M&C Saatchi earnings slump

By Live Commentary Updated: 17:44 BST, 10 April 2024 US Consumer Price Inflation was higher than expected in March, with both core and headline inflation [...]

Direct Line names Aviva’s Jane Poole as CFO

Poole will replace Neil Manser, who has worked at Aviva since October 2011Direct Line chief executive Adam Winslow was Ms Poole's superior at AvivaBy Harry [...]

Capita shares rise as group extends contract with telecoms firm

Capita shares have fallen by over 59% in the last year By Jane Denton Updated: 10:19 BST, 10 April 2024 Capita shares rose on Wednesday after [...]

THG losses narrow as group ups use of AI and automation

THG saw annual loss narrow and revenue grew in the final quarter By Jane Denton Updated: 10:02 BST, 10 April 2024 THG losses narrowed last year [...]

M&C Saatchi profits slide as ad market continues to suffer

M&C Saatchi revealed headline pre-tax profits declined by 10% to £28.7mHigher interest rates slowed the technology sector's growth last yearBy Harry Wise Updated: 09:34 BST, [...]

Tax trap on new NS&I British Savings Bonds when you pay in just £7,700

Guaranteed Growth Bonds lock your money away for three years and pay 4.15% They are structured so they can only be accessed at end of the [...]

NS&I log-in problems persist for four days and it claims it was NOT a cyber attack

By Toby Walne Updated: 22:12 BST, 9 April 2024 A four-day computer meltdown at National Savings and Investments has been blamed on a ‘technical issue’ [...]

BAE and Rolls-Royce in the line of fire as defence stocks tumble in £12bn rout

By John-Paul Ford Rojas Updated: 22:07 BST, 9 April 2024 Europe’s defence and aerospace stocks suffered a £12billion sell-off yesterday amid concerns that their record-breaking [...]

HSBC offloads Argentina arm at a hefty loss as South American country is racked by hyperinflation

By John-Paul Ford Rojas Updated: 22:06 BST, 9 April 2024 HSBC has agreed to sell its operations in hyperinflation-plagued Argentina in a deal that will [...]

Pub giant Stonegate warns of ‘material uncertainty’ over its £2bn debt

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter Updated: 22:06 BST, 9 April 2024 Last orders: Stonegate has until 2025 to refinance its debtsBritain's largest pub group [...]

UK logistics firm Unipart sees revenue top £1bn for the first time

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter Updated: 22:05 BST, 9 April 2024 Billion mark: Unipart provides logistics and supply chain services across 27 countriesBritish [...]

Soriot is ‘massively underpaid’ on £18.7m claims top AstraZeneca shareholder

By Leah Montebello Updated: 22:05 BST, 9 April 2024 Astrazeneca's boss is ‘massively underpaid’ and deserves a raise, according to one of its leading investors.Speaking [...]

Frasers Group and Next both in the running to buy Ted Baker out of administration

By Daily Mail City & Finance Reporter Updated: 22:04 BST, 9 April 2024 Rescue: Frasers and Next are said to be considering saving Ted Baker’s [...]

Former Shell boss van Beurden fuels fears energy giant will ditch London for New York

By Jessica Clark Updated: 22:03 BST, 9 April 2024 Warning: Ex-Shell chief exec Ben van Beurden (pictured) said the oil major is 'massively undervalued' Shell's former [...]

Gauloises maker Imperial Brands lifts guidance thanks to vape sales

Imperial Brands noted that tobacco sales had been bolstered by price hikesDemand for its next-generation brands was supported by product launches By Harry Wise Updated: 12:12 [...]