Category: Business

The annual rate of inflation rose to 0.6% in December from 0.3% in the previous month as shoppers returned to the high street in most parts of the UK after the end of the second lockdown. The Office for National Statistics said an increase in transport costs and a rise in computer games console prices […]

The average price of a property in London broke through the £500,000 barrier for the first time, official figures for November show, with pent-up demand from lockdowns, a change in the types of homes being bought and two tax deadlines all fuelling the market. In its monthly snapshot of the market – based on sales […]

London was in lockdown. Its economy – more dependent than most regions on hospitality and tourism – suffered as a result of the restrictions imposed in November by the government to curb the spread of Covid-19. Yet the price of the average house in the capital was almost 10% higher than a year earlier and […]

Burberry has reported a near 40% drop in sales in European markets on the back of store closures and fewer tourists but is experiencing a strong rebound in other parts of the world. Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa slumped 37% in 13 weeks to 26 December, a major contrast with the Asia […]

The Chinese billionaire Jack Ma has made his first public appearance since Beijing began a crackdown on his business empire. Ma, a celebrity businessman and one of the richest people in China, had not spoken publicly since regulators blocked the flotation of Ant Group, the financial payment company he controls. His absence had fuelled speculation […]

Locked-down European consumers bought big-screen TVs, food preparation gadgets and health and beauty appliances, handing Dixons Carphone’s 11% more revenue from selling electrical items over the Christmas trading period than a year earlier. The retailer, which owns the Currys PC World brand, said computing and gaming products were also big sellers during the festive period […]

A business council set up by Boris Johnson to rebuild the UK after Covid has been criticised for being too London-centric and treating most of the country with “contempt” after it emerged that all but five council members are based in or near the English capital. Just one of the 30 Build Back Better Council […]