Sainsbury’s gives workers 5.3pc pay rise to above national living wage
Sainsbury’s is lifting its basic rate of pay to at least £10 an hour as part of a £100m investment aimed at retaining staff. The 5.3pc rise, which comes into effect in March and also applies to Argos workers, takes the chain’s pay to above the National Real Living Wage. Wall Street falters after weak […]
US labour market strengthens after jobs surge, oil prices hit 14-month high
The US economy bounced back strongly in February adding 379,000 jobs as more states reopened for business and more vaccines against the coronavirus became available, write Dominic Rushe and Michael Sainato on the other side of the pond. The number was the largest gains the Department of Labor has recorded since November and came after jobs were lost […]
Pound-Dollar Rate Rises As US Jobs Miss Sparks Rising Expectations Of Aggressive Fiscal Stimulus
The US employment data was weaker than expected with the increase in January non-farm payrolls held to 49,000. The data dampened positive sentiment towards the US economy and also fuelled additional pressure for the US Administration to pass additional fiscal stimulus. Both factors tended to undermine the dollar as it retraced Thursday’s gains and pulled […]
US stocks hit fresh record highs on stimulus progress, job market stabilisation
Here is some reaction to the US non-farm payrolls data. Despite the 49,000 increase in jobs in January, there are almost 10 million fewer Americans in jobs than this time last year. James Ingram, investment manager at the fund manager MB Capital, says: It would have been nice if the payroll figures taken from January data […]
Wall Street on track for best week since April – as it happened
All is sedate on Wall Street on this remarkable day, so here’s a quick round-up. Global stock markets have posted their strongest weekly gains since April, as Joe Biden moves closer and closer to the US presidency. The S&P 500 index of US companies has put on 7% this week, rebounding strongly from last week’s losses. […]
US markets fall after Trump tests positive
President Donald Trump’s positive test for coronavirus rattled markets, with US stock markets dropping at the open. After trading down almost 1pc for most of the day the FTSE 100 closed up 0.4pc in London. The closely watched monthly US jobs report showed the rate of new jobs in the American economy slowed in September, putting a […]
US economy sheds jobs for first time since 2010 as coronavirus hits
Some reactions to the data are coming in now. The non-farm payrolls number is, unusually, a lagging indicator this month, said James Ingram, investment manager at MB Capital. We know that almost 10m more Americans have filed claims for unemployment benefits since the data were collected. He said: Due to the cutoff point, it was expected the […]
Markets tumbles again as coronavirus fears dominate
FTSE 100 hits lowest level since 2016 The FTSE 100 has now lost 3.7% for the day. The new intra-day low of 6,444 points is the lowest level since July 2016, when the fall in sterling made UK-listed companies relatively cheaper. The new low came after new figures showing an accelerating spread of coronavirus in the UK. […]
Worldline’s $8.7 billion Ingenico deal to create European payments leader
Worldline, in which Atos still has a 16.9% equity stake, said the deal would give it access to Ingenico’s strong presence in the travel, health and retail sectors, while the combined company would have a bigger geographic reach and an extended partnership with German savings banks. Creating a European champion able to compete with bigger […]
Worldline agrees to buy Ingenico and create new European payments leader
Creating a European champion able to compete with bigger American rivals could be welcomed by European politicians. “The local tie up by Ingenico and Worldline makes sense so instead of competing with each other in their domestic space the combined company can focus on bigger fish to fry,” said MB Capital managing director Marcus Bullus. […]