Almost half of the world’s leading Passenger Airlines were in financial danger BEFORE the coronavirus exploded out of a Wuhan seafood market and spread around the world, according to new research from market analysts Plimsoll.
On the back of the news that UK retail sales fell by 0.8% for the month of September, Plimsoll has updated its view on the financial health of the UK’s top 100 High Street Retailers.
The UK economy is at something of a crossroads. There are a host of complex, multi-faceted challenges the country faces as we emerge from what has been a period unlike any other in memory.
UK car manufacturing has faced significant challenges in recent years, with production dropping to its lowest levels in decades due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty surrounding Brexit. However, there are reasons for optimism in the industry.
The economic trend which has become known as the “Great Resignation” or the “Great Reshuffle” has developed further into 2022 as many employees have begun to explore new career options and move into more fulfilling roles with higher salaries or a better work-life balance. A key driver in resignations has been flexibility around remote work, and it seems that many employers are responding to this demand: according to ONS research from last year, online job adverts mentioning remote work tripled during the pandemic, increasing at a faster rate than the total number of vacancies being posted.
Leading figures in the paper and board market are increasingly concerned about being able to continue production in the UK as the energy costs and the price of timber remain impossibly high. Andrew Large, director-general of the Confederation of the Paper Industries, recently warned the government that without urgent action a ‘nightmare scenario’ of factory stoppages is a real possibility.
For the past couple of years, the headlines have been full of economic tales of woe and hardship. 2020 was dominated by existential crises as we wondered if life and business would ever get back to normal. The post-pandemic, Brexit reality of 2021 is one of the shortages in everything from CO2 to people, while inflation, debt and potential interest rate rises have heightened fears of another painful economic bust.
Global growth is slowing as trade spats turn into all-out war. Stockpiling for a 29th March Brexit that never happened are no longer inflating figures. EU companies are swapping supply chains out of the UK in anticipation of a “no deal”. No wonder then that new data is showing that the UK manufacturing sector has contracted significantly in May.
The UK economy has seemed to be teetering on the edge of economic catastrophe for the past two years. Industries have shut down, routes to overseas markets have become a labyrinth of complexity and costs have ballooned.
2021 saw more than US$5 trillion worth of M&A deals as more than 62,000 companies around the world changed ownership. For context, that is the equivalent of the entire German economy. No wonder banking and consultancy bonuses have led to a shortage of champagne.