Published: 21 April 2023
By Suzanne Evans, Director, Political Insight
A report from the cross-party House of Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) committee says Britain’s shrinking and ageing population is limiting economic growth, and that working practices have become “outdated and static”. Evidence to the committee found the UK had less than half the number of labour inspectors to meet global standards, while firms are inspected by National Minimum Wage teams every 500 years. An “exodus” of over-50s from the labour market has also worsened shortages, the MPs say. Polling for their report, titled ‘Post-pandemic economic growth’ and published today, found many in the workforce who had taken early retirement would return to work in flexible or part-time jobs. Deltapoll sampled 1,031 45-60 year olds, between 6th and 12th March, and found just over half of early retirees regretted their decision to leave the workforce, but that limited protections over non-full time work acted as a barrier to employment, and leaving them vulnerable to “unscrupulous” employers. The Committee is now urging the government to create a single watchdog to monitor the issue.
Retail sales volumes fell by 0.9% in March 2023, following a rise of 1.1% in February 2023, the Office for National Statistics said this morning, noting that retail is now 0.7% below its pre-covid lockdown level. ONS Director of Economic Statistics Darren Morgan blamed poor weather – it was the sixth wettest March on record - which hit clothing, garden centre and department store shops especially hard. Food sales also slipped. Motor fuel sales, however, rose by 0.2% in March, following a fall of 1.2% in February 2023. Such sales remains 8.5% below pre-covid levels. Overall, the three-month picture is “less subdued” Morgan said, showing positive growth for the first time since August 2021.
Meanwhile, a closely-watched survey of British consumers by market research firm GfK suggests they are at their most upbeat in more than a year this month, despite the surging cost of living.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has launched an investigation into EY’s audit of Made.com before the firm collapsed late last year. The online furniture business went into administration in November after rescue talks to find a buyer failed. The UK’s audit watchdog announced yesterday that it will start investigating EY’s audit of the firm’s accounts for the year ending December 2021. The FRC also said it was scrutinising EY’s audits of a separate unnamed company, focusing on a possible breach of fee cap requirements.
Capita is now saying that customer, supplier or colleague data may been accessed in a cyberattack that took place last month. At the time, the FTSE 250 outsourcer said no data was compromised, but disruption was caused to some services provided to individual clients. "From our investigations to date, it appears that the incident arose following initial unauthorised access on or around 22 March and was interrupted by Capita on 31 March,” Capita said, noting that: "There is currently some evidence of limited data exfiltration from the small proportion of affected server estate which might include customer, supplier or colleague data." The company said it continues to work through its forensic investigations and will inform any customers, suppliers or colleagues affected "in a timely manner".
Telecoms company Virgin Media O2 has reportedly started the process to sell part or all of its 25% stake in Cornerstone, the operator of Britain’s largest mobile tower network. The Financial Times says Virgin intends to use the proceed to fuel its expansion to full fibre broadband, however the firm declined to comment on the report. Cornerstone currently operates 14,200 “macro sites” on behalf of Virgin Media O2 and its part owner Vantage Towers. Cornerstone could be valued at up to £3bn, meaning Virgin Media O2 could secure around £750 million for the deal, the FT report said.
Australia's Link Group has agreed to pay out up to £235m to investors caught up in the collapse of the Woodford Equity Income Fund, it was confirmed yesterday. The Financial Conduct Authority said the payout would cover losses for over 300,000 investors in the Fund, which was managed by Link Group's UK business, Link Fund Solutions, and collapsed in 2019. The sum agreed is less than the total losses of £298m, but the regulator urged investors to consider the offer, which would see them recover around 77p in the pound.
FTSE 100 advertising giant WPP said yesterday it has bought sonic branding company amp for an undisclosed sum.
Instagram is trimming or shifting around 250 of its London-based staff to New York, as overhauls and layoffs continue to hit the tech sector. The Meta-owner photo app is asking UK-based workers to make the move just months after growing its London base and moving its leader, Adam Mosseri, to the UK. Bloomberg first reported the news, citing people familiar with the matter.
The UK-based coffee and sandwich chain Pret has launched in the Indian market, opening its first shop in Mumbai today, just two weeks after US technology giant Apple launched its first two stores in the country.
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said yesterday it had passed additional information to police relating to a report of a "serious criminal offence," which several media outlets are reporting as a rape allegation.
US media outlet Buzzfeed is to close its news site and cut its workforce by 15%, CEO Jonah Peretti has said, following a slump in advertising spend. Calling the decisions "deeply painful", Peretti said he could not invest more in the unprofitable news site, and that the firm would now focus on delivering news via the Huffington Post, which Buzzfeed took over two years ago.
Another Elon Musk SpaceX rocket launch went wrong again yesterday, with the Starship craft exploding for the fifth time. Musk’s electric car company, Tesla, also reported disappointing first quarter results, with shares dropping by 9.75% and earnings plummeting by over 20%. The double-whammy means the wealth of the world’s second richest man nosedived by $13bn (£10.44bn) in just 24 hours, the Daily Mail says.
And finally….
The Daily Mail reports how singer Taylor Swift snubbed a £80m sponsorship deal with collapsed crypto firm FTX deal, pulling out of discussions after asking probing questions: under US law, celebrities are liable if they promote unregistered securities for financial gain, hence Swift refused to sign the deal, sidestepping a £4billion lawsuit now hitting other celebrities who “weren’t as savvy” the Mail says. Disgraced FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried is reportedly a “fan of Tay Tay’ and pushed personally for a deal to be made with her. On Twitter, Elon Musk said he wasn’t surprised by the news, adding: “Taylor is smart and her father is a well-regarded investment banker”.
Why Media is an award-winning design, marketing, digital communications and PR agency offering tailored solutions to companies on a global scale. We have extensive experience in delivering design and marketing services to a spectrum of companies including professional services, property companies, financial institutions and shopping centres. We have offices in London UK, Hertford UK, Finestrat ES & Brescia IT.
Marketing Contact
Name: Claire White
E-Mail: claire@whymedia.com
Telephone: 01992 586 507
