Business and Economics

High street sales in June fell by the biggest margin on record for the summer month, with shoppers sitting on their hands over Brexit uncertainty, according to new data. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) described the state of the UK high street as “bleak”, and also revealed that average total sales in the three months to June have fallen into negative territory of 0.1%. Retailers were helped by online sales, which rose 4% in June for non-food products compared with...

Half of workers now follow a casual or smart casual dress code at work, allowing for jeans and other dress-down styles.

Thousands of City workers are fearing for their jobs after Deutsche Bank confirmed plans to cut 18,000 jobs across its global business. The firm, which employs around 8,000 in the UK, is telling staff about the details of the major redundancy plans at its London offices this morning. The layoffs come two months after the company’s chief executive, Christian Sewing, promised shareholders tough cutbacks to save more 1 billion euros (£880 million). Job losses come just over a year after...

The Pensions Regulator could target Sir Philip Green’s overseas assets to secure promised contributions to Arcadia’s pensions scheme. Guarantees given by Sir Philip and Lady Tina Green include a £100 million “cash” payment from Lady Tina, £75 million over three years from Arcadia Group Ltd (AGL), and a further £210 million in security from AGL. The pledges were made as part of a series of company voluntary arrangements (CVAs) which are subject to final approval on Wednesday, the Work and...

Bosses of the UK’s three biggest supermarkets have warned the next prime minister that setting up a potential no-deal Brexit for the end of October could hit shoppers’ Christmas celebrations. Chief executives from Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda, which account for more than half of all food sales in the country, said the October 31 deadline is particularly problematic because that is the same time they start increasing deliveries of extra festive products. Mike Coupe, the boss of Sainsbury’s, said the...

Prices were down 0.1% in June – the first fall since October last year.

Scotch whisky is among the products targeted by the US for a possible range of new tariffs on imported goods. GMB Scotland says reports Scotch whisky is among the products targeted by the U.S. for a new tariffs provides a troubling look future trade negotiations. The US has today threatened to impose tariffs on European Union imports worth up to $4bn (£3.2bn), although it is not known when tariffs would be imposed. In April, the US announced proposed tariffs on...

Since the Conservatives came to government in 2010, national debt has increased from £1 trillion to £1.8 trillion.

“Some companies already start moving their operation to other places in Europe"