Closing post
Time for a quick recap…
The UK’s housing sector has grown at the fastest rate since 2022, when the mini-budget knocked the industry almost two years ago, as the construction sector ‘turned a corner’ after a difficult start to the year.
But UK car sales fell in August, for the first time in just over two years, with the industry warning that the target for electric car sales this year will be missed.
In the US, a flurry of jobs data has painted a mixed picture, ahead of tomorrow’s official employment report, the Non-Farm Payroll.
Company payrolls rose by less than expected in August; they increased by 99,000, the smallest gain since 2021.
Job cuts also rose in August, with US employers announcing the greatest number of layoffs in five months.
But in better news, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment support fell last week, remaining at historically low levels.
Back in the UK, Royal Mail could be allowed to scrap second-class letter deliveries on Saturdays, as part of a shake-up of the company’s universal service obligation.
In the retail world, Currys has reported a jump in sales of electrical goods, thanks to the Euro 2024 mens football tournament and interest in AI.
But Primark has suffered a drop in UK sales this summer, as bad weather kept people off the high street and dampened demand for summer clothing.
The competition watchdog has launched an investigation into the Oasis ticket sales fiasco.
Petrol and diesel pump prices in the UK have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly three years.
John Lewis is reviving its “never knowingly undersold” price promise.
And in Germany, three executives from the defunct German payments firm have been ordered to pay €140m in damages today over loans to an Asian business partner that were never repaid.
Updated
Economic activity in the US services sector expanded for the second consecutive month in August, a new survey from the Institute of Supply Management shows.
The ISM’s Services PMI for August has risen to 51.5%, up from 51.4% in July.
This is the sixth month this year that the Services PMI has come in over 50 points, showing an expansion.
Services companies reported that business activity, new orders and employment all rose last month.
Steve Miller, chair of the Institute for Supply Management services business survey committee, says:
Slow-to-moderate growth was cited across many industries, while ongoing high costs and interest-rate pressures were often mentioned as negatively impacting business performance and driving softness in sales and traffic.
Although the Inventories Index increased by 3.1 percentage points into expansion territory in August, many respondents indicated their companies are still actively managing down their inventories.”
