Business News Round Up (18/02/2020)
UK employment hits new record high but wage growth slows
The number of people employed in the UK rose to a record high in the final quarter of 2019 as the number of people in work jumped by 180,000 to 32.934 million, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A total of 336,000 people entered the workforce between October and December, a record high, 0.4 points higher than the previous quarter and 0.6 points higher than the previous year. However, growth in pay has slowed steadily in months. Total earnings growth including bonuses, rose by an annual 2.9%, the weakest increase since the three months to August 2018.
https://www.cityam.com/uk-employment-hits-new-record-high-as-jobless-total-falls/
Northern firms boosted by rise in VC investments
Businesses in the North of England benefitted from a rise in venture capital investment in 2019, according to new figures released by KPMG. The value of deals increased 37% to £343.5 million, up from £249.5 million in 2019. The figures include a particularly active final quarter for businesses in the North West where £1.1m worth of venture capital was disclosed across five deals, including seed and early stage investments for BlackDice, Shopblocks and Football4Football.
https://www.insidermedia.com/news/north-west/northern-firms-boosted-by-rise-in-vc-investments
35,000 jobs to go at HSBC as profit plummets by a third
HSBC has announced it is restructuring operations in Europe and the US following a sharp drop in profits. The bank is preparing to reduce its headcount by 35,000 over the next three years and offload risk-weighted assets to achieve cost reductions amid slowing growth and globally low interest rates. The news comes following reports that profits for 2019 fell by 33% to £10.2 billion.
https://www.heraldscotland.com/business_hq/18242690.35-000-jobs-go-hsbc-profit-plummets-third/
North West world-first low carbon hydrogen projects win £13m Government backing
The UK Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has awarded £13 million to fund two world-first hydrogen projects led by the HyNet consortium in the North West. The funding forms part of a £90 million initiative to cut carbon emissions in industry and homes. The first project is the UK’s leading low carbon hydrogen project, involving Johnson Matthey as technology provider, SNC-Lavalin as project delivery specialists and Essar Oil UK as owner and operator. The second project, to conduct live trials of hydrogen fuelling, includes regional businesses Unilever, Essar Oil UK and Pilkington. The facility will deliver low cost, low carbon hydrogen at scale and high efficiency, and with a very high carbon capture rate – more than 95% of the carbon used in the process will be captured and stored, thanks to the pioneering carbon capture technology.