All posts tagged: Business

Greed blamed for failure of Wilko rescue deal as MPs examine retailer’s collapse – business live | Business

Published by Sam

Introduction: “Everyone got a little bit greedy” as Wilko failed, claims Putman. Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Greed has been blamed for the failure to agree a rescue deal for Wilko, as MPs prepare to examine the collapse of the discount retailer this autumn. Doug Putman, the billionaire Canadian business executive, says he came very close to agreeing a deal that would have saved thousands of jobs, but was thwarted by the homeware chain’s suppliers. Putman told Radio 4’s Today Programme that he really thought he had a deal to take over Wilko, which closed its doors last month with the loss of around 12,000 jobs. But, he explains, companies – such as Wilko’s IT suppliers – refused to budge on fees they wanted to charge for the transition. Putman says these companies were “super inflexible” about cooperating for the “four months or so” that he would have needed their systems before transitioning to his own. Putman, who owns HMV, says: I thought …

Photos: The Growth of Solar-Power Stations

Published by skeptic

Construction of utility-scale renewable-power facilities around the world has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Although the total percentage of global power needs met by photovoltaic energy alone remains small, at about 6 percent, it is on the rise. Governments and large companies are building massive facilities to provide both solar thermal and photovoltaic energy, converting the sun’s energy into electricity for millions of homes and businesses. Solar-panel farms are being installed on hillsides, rooftops, and pastures, and, more and more, in floating arrays in harbors or reservoirs. Gathered below are images of some of these new solar-power installations around the world. Source link

RepeatMD lands capital to grow its aesthetics and wellness booking business

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Traditionally, the aesthetics and wellness industry — med spas, dermatologists, plastic surgeons, weight loss clinics, OBGYNS and so on — have leaned on in-person consultations and ad hoc marketing campaigns to drive business. But the pandemic changed the equation. Now, there’s an expectation that these businesses have a presence on major digital channels. Not every practice has the skills and expertise to build out such presences, however — which is where companies like RepeatMD come in. Founded in 2021, RepeatMD provides turnkey software solutions to operators in the aesthetics and wellness sector. “RepeatMD’s buyers are small- and medium-sized businesses who want to generate a new revenue stream for their practice,” Phil Sitter, ReadMD’s founder and CEO, told TechCrunch in an email interview. “Our platform allows practitioners to sell their treatments around the clock and enhances the patient buying experience through a mobile app.” Sitter, a repeat entrepreneur, bootstrapped RepeatMD profitably until late 2022, when the startup closed its seed round. He funded Repeat in part with the proceeds from VIPinsiders, a Houston-based food and beverage …

UK hosts Global Investment Summit; Bank of England governor warns inflation fight will be ‘hard work’ – business live | Business

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UK announces £30bn boost at Global Investment Summit Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets, and the world economy. The UK government will today try to woo hundreds of business leaders as Rishi Sunak hosts a major business event at Hampton Court. More than 200 executives are set to attend the Global Investment Summit, including Goldman Sachs chief executive David Solomon, JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon, Blackstone boss Stephen Schwarzman and Aviva’s Amanda Blanc. Prime minister Rishi Sunak and business & trade secretary Kemi Badenoch will be hosting, with Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Bank sponsoring the event. With a dollop of hype, the government says the summit “marks a huge step forward for levelling up”. This claim is based on the fact that some of the “A-list CEOs and investors” attending have collectively pledged £29.5bn in new UK projects and capital. That spending, Downing Street says, will create over 12,000 jobs. It’s rather more than the £10bn which the UK lined up two years ago for the previous summit in 2021. …

Amazon workers begin Black Friday strike action, as UK consumer confidence picks up – business live | Business

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Key events Germany confirmed on brink of recession We have confirmation that Europe’s largest economy is on the brink of recession. Updated data shows that Germany’s GDP shrank by 0.1% in July-September, matching the initial reading. Ruth Brand, president of the Federal Statistical Office, says: “After the weak development in the first half of the year, the German economy started the second half of 2023 with a slight decline.” This follows stagnation in January-March, and 0.1% gowth in April-June. Today’s data will do very little to end the debate on whether or not the German economy is again the sick man of Europe, says Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro at ING. Brzeski adds: In any case, the German economy has become one of the growth laggards of the eurozone. This weak growth performance has a long list of explanations: there is the cyclical headwind stemming from inflation, still elevated energy prices and energy uncertainty, higher interest rates and China’s changing role from being a flourishing export destination to being a rival that needs fewer …

Richest benefit most from autumn statement, analysis finds; Nissan to build new electric vehicles in Sunderland – business live | Business

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Introduction: Richest benefit most from autumn statement Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of business, the financial markets and the world economy. Richer Britons benefit most from yesterday’s autumn statement, new analysis of Jeremy Hunt’s announcement shows. The Resolution Foundation have calculated that around 40% of the gains from the tax and benefit measures announced yesterday will go to the richest fifth of the population. Those measures include cutting the main 12% rate of employee national insurance contributions by two percentage points to 10% from January, the start of an election year. The top 20% will gain £1,000 on average from Hunt’s changes, five times the £200 gains seen by the bottom fifth, Resolution says. The IPPR came to a similar conclusion too – they worked out yesterday that for every £100 Jeremy Hunt spent on personal tax cuts, £46 will benefit the richest fifth of households. Only £3 of every £100 of tax cuts will go to the worst-off families, they say. Photograph: IPPR Yesterday, the New Economics Foundation calculated that poorest …

Can tax cuts save the Tories? – podcast | News

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Jeremy Hunt’s Treasury spent much of the past week hinting at tax cuts to come in the autumn statement, but the 2p reduction in national insurance still came as a surprise. It was packaged with tax cuts for businesses in what he called an “autumn statement for growth” worth £20bn. But as Heather Stewart tells Nosheen Iqbal, Hunt also laid out a set of economic predictions that show flatlining economic growth for the next three years, coupled with real-terms spending cuts that critics say will put further pressure on struggling public services. The statement – a budget in all but name – will be one of the chancellor’s last economic announcements before a general election which could come as early as spring. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, attacked the Conservatives for presiding over low growth and high taxes: “We all know that working people are worse off under the Conservatives.” Photograph: Jessica Taylor/Reuters Support The Guardian The Guardian is editorially independent. And we want to keep our journalism open and accessible to all. But we …

Photos: Autumn Colors and Autumn Chill

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As the season progresses toward colder days and nights, I wanted to take one more look at the colorful beauty of this autumn, seen in cities and countryside vistas across the Northern Hemisphere. Get cozy in a warm sweater and enjoy this batch of recent fall photos. For even more autumnal goodness, see “Fall Is in the Air: Images of the Season” from earlier this year. Source link

Grangemouth oil refinery to shut by 2025; UK government ‘minded to intervene’ over Telegraph sale – business live | Business

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Grangemouth oil refinery due to cease operations by 2025 BP’s Grangemouth oil refinery at dusk. Photograph: Murdo Macleod/The Guardian Scotland’s sole oil refinery at Grangemouth is due to cease operations in 2025, its owners have announced, a move which could cost hundreds of jobs. Petroineos, which owns the plant, said it will become a fuel import terminal, a move that will cut the UK’s oil refining capacity. Grangemouth has a refining capacity of 150,000 barrels per day, and is responsible for 4% of Scotland’s GDP and approximately 8% of its manufacturing base, according to Petroineos. The company said in a statement: “The timescale for any operational change has not yet been determined but the work will take around 18 months to complete and the refinery is therefore expected to continue operating until spring 2025.” The Unite union has pledged to “leave no stone unturned” in its fight to save jobs at Grangemouth. Unite’s Scottish secretary Derek Thomson told STV News. “The news will come as a shock to the local community but Unite is going …