21/03/2023

Business Update – 22 March 2023

Welcome back to our Weekly Digest. Read on for the latest updates and some ideas to help us all move forward.

UK and US share prices rise after a harrowing week

Fears in financial markets eased at the beginning of this week after regulators agreed to a rescue deal for Credit Suisse. The deal helped lift shares in Europe and the US.

Further layoffs announced for Amazon

After a strategic review, Amazon intends to lay off 9,000 more employees on top of the 18,000 layoffs already planned. The company will hire only in strategic areas where it has prioritised allocating more resources, CEO Andy Jassy wrote in a memo.

Network Rail RMT union members vote to accept pay deal

Thousands of signal workers and support staff will not participate in any more strikes in the long-running dispute over pay, as they accepted an offer from Network Rail earlier this week.

Tesco reduces the value of Clubcard reward vouchers again

For the second time in five years, Tesco has slashed its reward voucher values – this time from 3x to 2x. Shoppers are incensed, saying they’re spending more but getting less.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rally Monday

As a result of the US government announcing that they will protect Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank depositors, Bitcoin saw an 18% rally to open the week.

1000 items get a price lock or freeze at Morrison’s

The Bradford-based supermarket announced on Monday that it would slash the prices of over 500 items and freeze prices on many more.

House prices rise a little bit

According to property website Rightmove, the average house price in March rose by nearly £3,000 to £365,357, below the typical March rise of 1% over the past 20 years. The shift is a bit unexpected but can be explained by the recovery from a spike in borrowing costs at the end of last year.

Government considers ditching banking reforms amid turmoil

Government ministers are considering loosening the banking reforms introduced after the 2008 financial crisis. However, the timing is raising eyebrows as world markets try to recover from last week’s emergency takeover of Credit Suisse.

British workers are £11,000 worse off a year

According to the Resolution Foundation, the typical UK household is £11,000 worse off per year due to inflation and wages not keeping up with costs.

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