Business News Round Up (08/06/2020)
RBS index details suffering private sector for second month
Scotland’s private sector business activity continued to plummet in May as lockdown restrictions continued to disrupt the economy, according to a new report. The latest Royal Bank of Scotland Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) shows private sector output rose from 10.7 in April to 21.1 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis, indicating a rapid contraction. At sector level, the drop in order book volumes was again sharper in services, although both manufacturers and service providers recorded a softer decline than in April.
https://www.thenational.scot/news/18501852.rbs-index-details-suffering-private-sector-second-month/
North West business activity still in decline, but downturn eases since April
Business activity in the North West remained severely disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic in May, resulting in further job losses in the local economy. The latest NatWest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) survey, a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors, recorded 33 points in May, an improvement from April’s record low of 19.7, and above the UK average of 30. By sector, the decline in activity continued to be led by the service sector. However, both here and in manufacturing, the rate of decline in output eased since April.
Property and retail join calls for earlier restart
An industry body representing retail businesses in Scotland has urged the Scottish Government to issue a timescale for when shops will be allowed to reopen. The Scottish Retail Consortium has called for Holyrood to follow Northern Ireland’s example which is allowing shops that are ready to open safely to do so from today. As of a week today, a full range of shops in England will be able to open for business again. In Scotland however, no indicative dates for re-opening have been provided. The latest demands come as the RBS/NatWest purchasing managers index today shows Scotland had the smallest rebound in business activity since April among all regions and nations in the UK.
https://dailybusinessgroup.co.uk/2020/06/housing-and-retail-join-calls-for-earlier-restart/
‘Open-minded’ businesses sought for ambitious Innovate Manchester programme
Greater Manchester’s inward investment agency MIDAS wants businesses to open their minds to the opportunities created by innovation and collaboration as the region looks to shape its response to the new economic reality. The organisation is launching Innovate Manchester, an eight-month initiative to bring together SMEs, large businesses, and universities to work together on progressive ideas across four of the region’s industrial strengths. The agency wants the region’s existing companies to leverage more of the asset base that exists around them that they may not interact with now. It seeks to do that by bringing together the people who can be the source of the innovation with those who have the commercial demand for innovation, and so can create and sustain a marketplace.