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Business

The latest published reporting in this category.

Finance

UK interest rates increase expected after services sector activity accelerates

Purchasing manager’s index at eight-month high, bolstered by spending on AI as firms regain momentum lost to Iran war The Bank of England is expected to raise interest rates on Thursday after a closely watched survey showed growth across the UK’s services sector leapt last month to an eight-month high, bolstered by spending on artificial intelligence. S&P Global’s survey of the services sector in October showed businesses regained much of the momentum they lost after the start of the Iran war, but also felt the impact of a renewed spurt of input price inflation, which accelerated to a five-mon

The Guardian
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Finance

M&S boss bemoans last week’s budget as ‘whole lot of nothing’

Stuart Machin hits out at Labour but welcomes expected UK-EU food deal as retailer reveals half-year results The chief executive of Marks & Spencer has called John Healey’s first budget as chancellor a “whole lot of nothing” and bemoaned an “onslaught of taxation and regulation” from the Labour government despite welcoming an expected deal on EU border checks. Stuart Machin said he was disappointed at last week’s budget statement, adding that it “didn’t really address the issues we need to focus on growth”. He said the chancellor’s “real terms” freeze on business rates, for example, would lead

The Guardian
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Finance

BMW warns on profits as it counts cost of plan for 8,000 job cuts

German carmaker slashes profit margin to between -0.5% and 0.5% this year in face of competition from China The German carmaker BMW has issued its second profit warning in a year, blaming the costs of a restructuring programme including significant job losses in the face of continuing competition from China. The company is the latest to issue a profit downgrade in the German car sector, after Mercedes-Benz last week cut its profit outlook. Western automakers have struggled to keep pace with lower-cost Chinese rivals, which has led to reduced sales in China and a rise in Chinese exports to Euro

The Guardian
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Finance

Britain’s housing market unlikely to recover until 2028, says Savills

House prices forecast to fall by 1.5% next year as Middle East war keeps mortgage rates higher for longer Britain’s sluggish housing market is not expected to recover until 2028 as higher mortgage rates linked to the war in the Middle East deter buyers and weigh on prices. The property firm Savills said average house prices were expected to drift lower during the rest of 2026 and fall by 1.5% in 2027, as the prolonged conflict undermines buyers’ confidence and keeps mortgage rates higher for longer. Continue reading...

The Guardian
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