Our next event will be at Indigo Blue on 9th November. The topic will be 'Having established demand and support for our product what else should we do to ensure commercial viability?" We hope to see you there!
In October, the GfK Consumer Barometer, which surveys
2000 people, recording a measure of -17 f0r confidence in the British economy
over the next year. It was -9 in September and has dropped a full 24 points
from the same time last year. This most likely reflects concerns about higher
inflation and the weakened pound. The overall index score, which reflects a
range of indicators, dropped this month but remains above the levels reached immediately
after the EU referendum.
In the first nine months of 2016, RBS made a £2.5bn
loss after incurring a £469m loss in the third quarter. As Ross McEwan, the
chief executive, tried to focus on the £1.3bn of profits generated before the
legal and restructuring charges, he said the 73% taxpayer-owned bank faced
several hurdles in the month ahead. RBS is entering its ninth year under
government ownership after the bailout of the Edinburgh-based bank was
announced in 2008. £45bn of taxpayer money was eventually pumped into the bank,
which has not reported a full-year profit since then.
Popular social media platform Twitter has announced
plans to cut 9% of its global workforce, or approximately 350 people, as the
company struggles to achieve profitability. Having struggled to sign up new
users in amid competition from rivals such as Instagram and Snapchat, Twitter
said it expects to book around $10m to $20m in workforce restructuring charges.
The decision comes as the company reported slightly higher than expected
results on Thursday. Revenue rose by around 8% to $616m in the three months
leading up to September, beating the company’s own forecast of $590m to $610m.
Consumers may not be confident in the future of the
UK economy but, defying City forecasts which had GDP more than halving to 0.3%,
it has in fact grown by 0.5% in the three months since the ‘Brexit’ vote. The
dominant services sector expanded at a faster rate in the quarter to the end of
September than during the three months leading up the vote. However, the
promising figures were marred by a contraction in agriculture, construction and
manufacturing. Overall, GDP growth slowed from 0.7% in the previous quarter.
European Central Bank (ECB) council member Philip
Lane said today that there is likely to be a significant flight of financial
activity out of Britain if companies are no longer regulated on equivalent
terms to those in the EU after Brexit. Speaking at a Reuters Newsmaker event, he
also said, however, that “if the UK-EU negotiations deliver an agreement that
effectively preserves the single passport for UK-resident entities selling into
the EU, the net impact on the structure of the European financial system might
be quite minor”.
Figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS)
indicate that a 6.2% rise for the lowest paid UK workers meant pay inequality
narrowed between April 2015 and early April 2016. The pay gap between women and
men has also shrunk slightly, the ONS said. Pay rose at its joint highest rate
since the financial crisis, driven by wage rises in the private sector. Weekly
earnings for full-time workers were 2.2% higher in April from a year previous,
or by 1.9% after inflation.
In
Other News
-
UK salaries less than they were 12 years ago,
official figures reveal - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/uk-salaries-less-wages-down-inequality-ons-statistics-a7381671.html
-
IAG shares soar as FTSE 100 recovers - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37797007
-
Deutsche Bank posts surprise profit despite threat
of $14bn fine - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/deutsche-bank-posts-surprise-profit-despite-threat-of-14bn-fine-a7382456.html
-
Sadiq Khan warns hard Brexit will cost millions of
jobs across UK - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/oct/27/sadiq-khan-to-warn-hard-brexit-will-cost-millions-of-jobs-across-uk
-
OPEC officials start meeting on implementing supply
cut - http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-opec-meeting-idUKKCN12S1BZ
Please comment below with your thoughts and opinions on this week's business news. We always love to hear from you!
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