WH Smith has launched a buy-back service for used books, offering readers vouchers in exchange for their secondhand volumes. Through the BookCycle scheme, launched on Tuesday, readers register their books online, take them to a branch and receive an e-voucher to spend in store or online. The books will be “passed on for another reader […]
Jaguar Land Rover has hauled itself into the black and raised its full-year outlook after record sales in the first six months of the year. Britain’s largest carmaker posted revenues of £13.8 billion between April and September, generating a profit before tax of £877 million compared with a loss of more than £500 million in […]
Oil and gas giant Shell has posted strong profits helped by oil prices rising again. The energy giant reported earnings of $6.2bn (£5.1bn) between July and September, up sharply on the previous quarter. Profits were down from $9.4bn in the same period last year, however, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused a spike in oil […]
The Bank of England has held interest rates for the second meeting in a row, but signalled that they will stay high for an “extended period of time”. Members on the nine-strong monetary policy committee (MPC) today voted 6-3 in favour of leaving the base rate at 5.25 per cent, a move that was widely […]
An expected announcement on the future of the country’s biggest steel plant has been delayed at the last minute, leaving the future of thousands of Welsh steelworkers in the balance. Unions had been expecting confirmation of up to 3,000 job losses at Port Talbot in South Wales and associated businesses. However, the board of Tata […]
Delays in the production of its new DB12 model have led Aston Martin Lagonda to cut volume targets for the year. In an update on trading in the third quarter, Aston Martin reported losses of £117 million, worse than expected in the City and leaving it £260 million in the red for the first nine […]
Troubled office-sharing firm WeWork may file for bankruptcy as early as next week, according to US media reports. The firm was once seen as the future of the office. But it has been plagued by problems, including a disastrous attempt in 2019 to sell shares to the public and the exit of its co-founder. The […]
House prices in October were 0.9 per cent higher than in September, figures from lender Nationwide showed before the Bank makes its interest rate call tomorrow. . Compared with October last year, prices were down 3.3 per cent, a less sharp fall than September’s 5.3 per cent drop, Nationwide said. This comes after the Bank […]
The UK government has reportedly removed state guarantees from almost £1bn in Covid-19 emergency loans, pushing potential losses on to banks if borrowers fail to repay them. The taxpayer-owned British Business Bank (BBB), which runs the loan schemes, removed state guarantees from 10,786 loans worth a combined £979m up to 11 October, according to data […]
Deliveroo has partnered with the tech start-up Multiverse to gift over £200,000 of its unspent apprenticeship levy to organisations looking to upskill their staff. The funds have been allocated to over ten small businesses, ranging from fintechs to consulting start-ups, enabling them to invest further in developing data and digital skills. Those that will benefit […]