THE DAILY BRIEFING
BANK LOSSES HSBC is scrapping 840 UK jobs and moving the roles abroad.
It means British IT workers will be replaced by staff in lower-wage countries including India, China and Poland.
Most staff are expected to leave by the end of the year, trade union Unite said, and all jobs are due to have been transferred by March.
SHOP VACANCIES The number of empty shops across the High Street has fallen to the lowest level since the end of 2009. Figures from the Local Data Company found shop vacancies dropped to 12.4pc in April. However, the number of shops that have been empty for more than three years is still 11,839. This has reduced by 2.8pc since the start of the year as landlords and local authorities demolish sites or redevelop them. SWEDISH CHILL H&M disappointed stock markets with a slower than expected growth in sales in April. Sales rose 5pc, below the 8-9pc expected by analysts. The Swedish fashion retailer had already suffered a slowdown in March due to the colder than normal weather and said the ‘cold spring which continued into April had an unfavourable impact on sales’.
OIL STAKE BP has increased its stake in a £2bn gas project in the North Sea from 16pc to nearly a third. The Culzean field development is expected to produce enough gas to meet 5pc of total UK demand at peak production by 2021. During the construction, operator Maersk will employ up to 6,000 and it should create more than 400 UK jobs. BP bought its stake from Japanese energy giant JX Nippon, which retains an 18pc stake.
DEVELOPERS GROW Fears of a dip in property prices has not dented the performance of office and retail developer British Land and housebuilder Crest Nicholson.
British Land said office occupancy rose to 99pc during the year to April. Net asset value – the measure of performance in the property sector – rose 11pc to 919p a share.
Crest Nicholson said it is on track to reach its target of £1bn of sales in the year to the end of October. Total forward sales were up 22pc year-on-year to £409m in the six months to the end of April.
EMISSIONS ROW The South Korean Government has accused Nissan of cheating emissions targets with cars made in Britain.
South Korea will fine the car maker and recall its Qashqai diesel sport utility vehicles made in Sunderland. Nissan denied any wrongdoing. BEAN COUNTER Mulberry’s finance director Neil Ritchie started at the luxury brand this week and has joined its board. He replaces Roger Mather and joins from vacuum cleaner maker Dyson.