Financial Sector

Mountain Warehouse has reported a 38.2 per cent rise in sales for the six weeks to December 31. Sales in overseas markets climbed by 4 per cent and now account for a third of turnover. Mark Neale, chief executive, said: “Sales reached £2million in a single day along for the first time in our history on Black Friday, and since that stampede the […]

MPs have demanded that funds should be diverted from the foreign aid budget to help tackle the crisis in the NHS. Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said: “I think the NHS should be a priority rather than non-emergency health care in foreign countries.” Visit Page

Toshiba has sold Westinghouse Electric Company, the US nuclear engineering group that went bankrupt last year, to Canadian asset manager Brookfield in a $4.6bn deal. Visit Page

According to the mortgage lender Halifax, house prices in Cheltenham rose more rapidly than in any other part of the UK in 2017, while Perth, in Scotland, saw the steepest fall. The UK housing market has slowed considerably compared with last year, when the national average growth rate was 7.5%, while forecasters are predicting that increases could slow to a halt in 2018 […]

Jane Cummings, the chief nursing officer for England, has warned that missed hospital appointments cost the NHS almost £1 billion a year and deprive patients of vital care. As the service heads into what is likely to be the busiest week of the winter, Cummings called for the public to be more responsible about wasting time and resources. Visit Page

The FCA looks likely to postpone a decision on whether to create a stock market category that would allow Saudi oil giant Aramco to be listed in the UK. A consultation was launched in July. Aramco is thought to be the world’s biggest company, with an estimated market capitalisation of $2 trillion (£1.5trn). This values its proposed 5 per cent listing at $100bn […]

Europe’s financial services industry is preparing for the introduction of the sprawling piece of legislation known as Mifid II, which aims to make EU markets more competitive and transparent. Visit Page

The Financial Times annual predictions survey indicates that the UK’s economy will slow further in 2018 as business investment remains on hold, interest rates rise and indebted consumers curb their spending. Visit Page