Afternoon summary
Time to recap.
Dame Sharon White is to step down as chair of the John Lewis Partnership when her five-year term ends in February 2025, putting the future of the loss-making group in the spotlight again.
White today asked the partnership’s board to start the process of appointing a successor, to take over when her first term ends in February 2025. This will make her the shortest-serving chairperson in its 160-year history.
White said:
“Having led the Partnership through the pandemic and the worst of the cost of living crisis, it is important that there is now a smooth and orderly succession process and handover.
Analysts said White had faced serious hurdles, including the Covid pandemic and high inflation; but there are also calls for a “seasoned shopkeeper” to be appointed as her successor.
Zoe Mills, lead retail analyst at GlobalData, says:
“Dame Sharon White has been at the helm of the John Lewis Partnership during an exceedingly rocky period.
She has faced unprecedented challenges, namely the global pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis. Indeed, while she will have been its shortest-serving chair in its history, she will have withstood at least four Prime Ministers during her tenure….
Her time has been marred by controversy when discussions of altering the employee-owned structure of the partnership were revealed but quickly shelved.
John Lewis has also named a KitchenAid food mixer, a Sage bean-to-cup coffee machine, a fitness tracker, wireless headphones and an air fryer as products of the decade:
UK house prices fell by 5.3% in the year to September, lender Nationwide reported, with drops in price in every region of the country as rising interest rates squeeze the market.
Annual & monthly house price growth remains unchanged on Aug, stagnating avg house prices in Sep 23 at £257,808 - down 5.3% year on year (£14,500.) Over Q3 though, all regions recorded price falls that ranged from 1.7% in Northern Ireland to 6.3% in the South West @AskNationwide pic.twitter.com/j66AvqwF1o
— Emma Fildes (@emmafildes) October 2, 2023
That matches August’s fall, which was the biggest annual drop since 2009.
UK factories have suffered another contraction, with manufacturers hit by weakening demand in September.
Water companies are facing a backlash from campaigners after revealing they will ask customers to pay for a record £96bn investment to fix raw sewage leaks, build new reservoirs and reduce leaks.
More than half of businesses have opened offices or working spaces outside city centres, in response to the shift towards hybrid working, according to new research.
Thinktank Demos has called for government spending on preventative policies from vaccines to family hubs to be significantly increased.
Updated
After a positive start this morning, the London stock market has dropped into the red as the day’s trading has gone on.
The FTSE 100 index of blue-chip shares is now down by 1.4%, or 107 points, at 7500 points, the lowest in over two weeks.
Other European markets are also in the red.
Investor mood has been dampened by today’s economic data showing weakening factory activity in the UK and eurozone.
Conversely, the drop in eurozone unemployment this morning – and a pick-up in US manufacturing – has fuelled concerns that interest rates will stay high for longer.
🇺🇸ISM Manufacturing +1.4pt to 49 in Sep: still in contraction but 3rd gain & highest since Nov '22
— Gregory Daco (@GregDaco) October 2, 2023
🟡New Orders 49 (+2.4pt)
🟡Production 49.2 (+2.5pt)
✅Employment 52.5 (+2.7pt)
✅Supplier Deliveries 51.2 (-2.2pt)
🔻Backlogs 42.4 (-1.7pt)
🆒Inflation 43.8 (-4.6pt) pic.twitter.com/5MVu31XbeV
Government bond prices have also weakened, pushing up bond yields.
