THE DAILY BRIEFING

STORES CLOSURE Office supply store Staples is the latest retailer to disappear from the High Street after the company struggled to fend off competition from supermarkets.

The chain, which employs 1,300 staff across 107 stores in Britain, has been sold to turnaround firm Hilco Capital, which plans to wind down Staples’ UK business after latest pretax losses of £5m for the year to the end of January 2015.

PLATINUM PROFIT Sales at platinum firm Johnson Matthey rose 5pc in the first six months of the year, thanks to strong sales in Europe and Asia.

Profit was down more than 36pc to £210m, but the FTSE 100 firm said this was due to an asset sell-off last year that was not repeated. Shares closed down 3.2pc, or 108p to 3227p.

CO-OP CUTBACKS The troubled Co-op Bank is laying off 200 staff as it fights its way back to health.

Employees were yesterday told of the cutbacks, which will fall mostly on management and in the head office. There are likely to be a mix of voluntary and compulsory redundancies and the jobs are set to go by the end of March.

FASHION BOOST Ted Baker has brushed aside tough trading conditions to post double-digit sales growth, but the fashion chain stressed Christmas would be crucial.

Total sales rose 14.8pc in the 13 weeks to November 12, with wholesale and retail sales up 15.4pc and 13.2pc. Its shares have plunged nearly 30pc in the past year, but yesterday shares rose 0.4pc, or 9p to 2510p.

INVESTOR CHEER Profits at investment bank Investec rose 0.7pc to £281.4m in the six months to September 30.

Investors ploughed £1.8bn into its wealth and asset management businesses. The firm increased its dividend by 5.3pc to 10p per share. Shares rose 1.7pc, or 8.5p to 509p.

BANK GROWTH Merchant bank Close Brothers has seen strong growth in its property division since the Brexit vote.

The overall loan book grew by 2.7pc to £6.6bn in the third quarter of the year, and bosses said they were confident of good results for 2017. Shares rose 2.6pc, or 35p to 1385p.

RUNNING MATE JP Morgan boss Jamie Dimon was last night said to still be in the running for US Treasury Secretary under President-elect Donald Trump – despite earlier reports he had turned the job down.

OIL STRIKE Engineering consultancy WS Atkins has been hit by falling oil prices, but helped by infrastructure projects in the US.

It reported a 10.7pc increase in profit (from £59m to £65.3m), against a 10pc increase in revenue. The company said the EU vote had little impact.