Asda is abandoning plans to introduce a four-day working week after complaints from exhausted staff exposed a crucial misstep in the successful implementation of reduced working patterns. The supermarket chain launched a trial to have employees work their 44-hour week over four days instead of five for the same pay. That translated into 11-hour shift … Read more
‘Her baby choked’: how a cafe accident and £400 turned into a genius business idea about to go global Only 18% of businesses in Britain are run by women, and although data shows that female entrepreneurs are on the rise, men still receive more funding and are entrusted with higher average loans to help them … Read more
Spending in stores and online recovered strongly last month, as better weather, falling inflation and rising consumer confidence stimulated spending. The Office for National Statistics’ monthly update shows retail sales volumes rose 2.9% in May, following a weather-affected 1.8% decline in April. The ONS said most retailers had a better month in May, with clear … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter. UK retail sales rebounded much stronger than expected as consumers grew more confident amid easing inflation, delivering good news about the economy ahead of the election. The amount of goods purchased rose 2.9 percent between … Read more
VCs are clamoring for investments in “hot AI” companies, willing to pay exorbitant stock prices for coveted spots on their cap tables. Yet most are completely unable to make such deals. Yet small, unknown investors, including family offices and high-net-worth individuals, have found their own way to grab shares of the hottest private startups like … Read more
Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free Roula Khalaf, editor of the FT, selects her favorite stories in this weekly newsletter. The family office of Bridgewater Associates founder Ray Dalio has bought two multimillion-dollar “retail properties” in Singapore, as billionaires snap up heritage properties in the city-state. The Dalio Family Office, which announced its move to … Read more
Stay informed with free updates Simply log in to the Chinese economy myFT Digest – delivered straight to your inbox. Industrial production in China rose more than expected last month, but retail sales grew more slowly, a sign that weak consumer confidence weighed on a recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. Industrial production grew at … Read more