BUSINESS LIVE: UK retail sales rose in August; Ashtead Group names new CFO; Michelmersh’s profits slump

Hewlett Packard has confirmed it plans to continue with its claim for up to £3billion in damages against the estate of Mike Lynch after his death in last month’s superyacht disaster.

The US tech giant won a High Court civil claim against the tech tycoon in 2022, accusing him and his former finance director.

Harrods has been training staff to intervene if shoppers or customers are sexually harassed, amid a worrying crime epidemic in shops.

The London department store said a policy was introduced last year for all employees to receive compulsory training on the issue.

Ashtead Group said it expects yearly results to be ‘in line’ with expectations despite a dip in first quarter profits.

The equipment rental company, which leases machinery like battery-powered saws and forklift trucks, saw its profit before tax fall 7 per cent – or $544million (£414million) – for the first quarter to 31 July.

UK retail sales rose last month as warm weather encouraged Britons to buy food for social occasions, new figures revealed.

The British Retail Consortium revealed retail sales volumes increased by an annual rate of 1 per cent in the four weeks ending 24 August, compared to 4.1 per cent growth in August 2023.

Car makers are being forced to build vehicles drivers ‘don’t want’ to meet green targets, one of the country’s biggest dealership chains has warned.

Under rules brought in by the previous Tory administration, 22 per cent of new cars sold next year must be zero emission. This threshold is set to rise to 80 per cent in 2030.

The crisis engulfing Germany’s economy deepened yesterday as carmaker Volkswagen said it could close down factories in the country for the first time in its 87-year history.

VW said major cost-cutting measures were needed – as separate figures revealed the eurozone’s wider manufacturing sector was ‘going downhill and fast’.

Listening to a chief executive deliver a corporate report on his quarterly earnings is not most people’s idea of a great party.

Except when the company concerned is Nvidia, the US computer chip designer otherwise known as The Most Important Stock on Planet Earth.

Retail sales volumes increased by an annual rate of 1% in August, according to the British Retail Consortium.

Growth was driven by warm weather and the Paris Olympics encouraging Britons to purchase food for social occasions, as well as stronger demand for clothing, health and beauty products.

Linda Ellett, UK Head of Consumer, Retail & Leisure at KPMG, said: Consumer sentiment is gradually starting to improve, but there still remains some nervousness around potential tax rises and the cost of putting the heating back on when the cooler weather arrives.

The fragile nature of consumer confidence means shoppers will continue to be driven by price and value, moving from brand to brand to find the best price benefit and we are likely to see retailers using promotional activity to seek to win at this.

Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on the markets this morning:

The FTSE 100 has opened a touch higher as investors digest several corporate releases plus fresh retail data that suggests consumer spending power is just about sticking in there.

BRC data covering August showed a meagre 1% rise in non-food retail sales and Barclays card spending showed a similar rise, as consumers gear up for next month’s energy bill increase and the potential for tax hikes from Labour’s first budget.

US markets took a day off yesterday, with futures trading suggesting a weaker opening later today. There are some tough seasonal trends ahead, as September has historically been a poor month for the S&P 500.

Couple that with political and geopolitical uncertainty, and investors are likely in for a choppy month. US non-farm payroll figures on Friday are the highlight of the week, which could have a meaningful impact on the size of the first Fed cut later this month.