More strike news: Rail union TSSA says its members will hold two 48-hour strikes on Avanti West Coast next month, as part of the ongoing dispute over pay, job security and conditions.
Strikes will take place at Avanti West Coast on 13, 14, 16 and 17 December (as well as ASOS from 18 December).
It will involve Avanti who work in a range of operational, station, revenue, on-board and management roles.
In addition, TSSA members will carry out only contractually required duties at other train operators in the run-up to Christmas, which will prevent them covering for other striking staff.
The takeover of collapsed energy supplier Bulb by Octopus Energy has been approved in a London court.
Octopus agreed last month to buy Bulb out of a government-handled administration process which has lasted for nearly a year.
Judge Antony Zacaroli was deciding whether to approve the Energy Transfer Scheme which will transfer some of Bulb’s assets into a new separate entity, and when to set a date for the transfer.
“I have made a decision that I should and will set an effective date” of 20 December, he said.
The decision comes despite rivals E.ON, Centrica and Scottish Power lodging separate judicial reviews yesterday, arguing there is a lack of transparency around the deal between Octopus and the government.
Zacaroli said the judicial review proceedings were for an administrative court to decide and can run separately. The review could still delay or block the takeover.
Just in: there are still more that 10 million unfilled job opportunities across the US.
The number of job openings in America dropped to 10.33m in October, the JOLTS report shows.
That’s down from 10.687m in Setember, but still a historically very high amount.
Job openings fell at state and local government offices (excluding education), at factories making non-durable goods, and at federal government.
The quits rate, which meaasures how many people chose to leave their jobs, dipped slightly to 2.6% from 2.7%.
The JOLTS report had been seen as an arcane piece of economic data, but it has grown sharply in importance as the US Federal Reserve tries to get its finger on the pulse of the jobs market. Reuters have a nice piece about it here.
Unite national officer Dominic Hook says the union is “appalled” that HSBC is “walking away” from customers and communities who most need access to local banking services.
Hook says:
“Unite is calling on HSBC to reconsider these branch closures during the consultation process before they abandon the most vulnerable in our society and leave them without a neighbourhood bank served by experienced knowledgeable staff.
Of the total 114 closures proposed today the vast majority (108) of the closures will result in no HSBC branch within 3 miles and it is disgraceful that 25 communities will be left to travel over 15 miles to the nearest branch.
HSBC’s branch closures will hurt elderly customers, who may not have moved to online banking, or those without transport to get to another site, points out the Daily Mirror’s Graham Hiscott.
More economic news: The US economy grew a little faster than first thought in July-September.
US GDP grew at an annual rate of 2.9%, up from a first estimate of 2.6%. That’s equal to quarterly growth of over 0.7%, as America bounced back from a technical recession in the first half of this year.
In contrast, the UK contracted by 0.2% in the third quarter, while the eurozone grew by 0.2%.
Just in: US companies hired fewer new staff than expected this month, which may show that America’s labor market is slowing.
And that could be significant for the global economy, if it encourages the US Federal Reserve to slow its interest rate increases.
Payroll provider ADP has reported there were 127,000 new hires in November, sharply down on 239,000 a month earlier. It’s the biggest slowdown in job creation since January 2021, led by construction and other interest rate-sensitive sectors.
Nela Richardson,ADP’s chief economist, says:
Turning points can be hard to capture in the labor market, but our data suggest that Federal Reserve tightening is having an impact on job creation and pay gains.
In addition, companies are no longer in hyper-replacement mode. Fewer people are quitting and the post-pandemic recovery is stabilizing.
The official US jobs report is released in two days time.
100 jobs at risk as HSBC plans 114 branch closures
Banking giant HSBC has said that around 100 staff could leave the bank as a result of plans to axe 114 UK branches from April next year (see earlier post).
The group stressed that it hopes to redeploy all its employees at affected branches to other roles within HSBC, either to other branches or to a different position.
It plans to speak to all staff in the branches due to close but it estimates that around 100 employees could leave.
It comes as the bank said it has seen a significant decline in customers visiting their local branch since the pandemic, many of whom have turned to digital banking services instead.
Jackie Uhi, HSBC UK’s managing director of UK distribution, said:
“People are changing the way they bank and footfall in many branches is at an all-time low, with no signs of it returning. Banking remotely is becoming the norm for the vast majority of us.
But the closures could hurt those who haven’t moved to online banking, such as older customers and those still without web access or a smartphone.
According to HSBC, the number of people visiting branches has slumped by 65% over five years. The pandemic expedited the shift towards online banking when lockdowns and government restrictions meant that branches were forced to close, prompting customers to switch to online banking whether they liked it or not. HSBC said 97.5% of all its transactions now take place online.
Today’s decision is part of HSBC’s strategic move towards digital banking and serves as a way for the lender to cut costs by reducing its number of bricks and mortar physical stores.
High streets across Britain have been facing a deepening crisis in recent years with footfall on the slide amid the rapid expansion of online shopping with banking services just one piece of this broader puzzle.
Banking apps and websites have become increasingly user friendly with more and more services on offer, resulting in a sharp decline in the requirement for branches. However, this could unfairly impact certain pockets of society such as those without internet access or the elderly who can sometimes struggle with technology.
Eurostar security staff to strike in run-up to Christmas
Security staff on Eurostar are to strike for four days next month in a dispute over pay.
Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union employed by a private contractor will walk out on December 16, 18, 22 and 23 after voting in favour of industrial action, by around four to one.
The RMT said the strike will “severely affect” Eurostar services and travel plans for people over the pre-Christmas period.
More than 100 security staff, employed by facilities management company Mitie, are involved in the dispute.
RMT general secretary MickLynch says it’s “disgraceful” that Eurostar security staff are not being paid a decent wage, and urges Mitie and Eurostar to come to a negotiated settlement with the union as soon as possible.
The strikes will coincide with other walkouts on the railway in the run-up to Christmas. RMT members working for Network Rail and 14 train operating companies will strike on 13-14 and 16-17 December.
We’re keen to to hear how soaring prices are affecting the Christmas plans of people in the UK.
Are you planning to have a leaner Christmas this year? Whether you’ve decided to buy fewer presents, do a less elaborate Christmas dinner than you usually would or whether you will go ahead with a traditional Christmas with all its trimmings despite the higher cost this year, we’d like to hear about it.
Banking giant HSBC has announced plans to shut a further 114 UK branches.
The sites will shut from April next year, with HSBC saying customer use has fallen significantly since the pandemic, as more people turn to online banking.
H&M’s plan to cut 1500 jobs highlights the problems facing the fashion retail sector in the cost of living crisis, says Susannah Streeter, senior investment and markets analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown:
Keeping the lights and heating on in vast stores is becoming increasingly unaffordable with energy prices so volatile. With shoppers also becoming impressively price sensitive as cost-of-living headwinds continue to whip up, retailers are finding it more difficult to pass on increase in input costs.
Shoppers are showing signs of trading down and hunting out bargains, so the pressure is on H&M to compete with chains seen as offering greater value, from Primark in high streets to Boohoo and Shein online.
H&M has undergone an admirable shift to online, making shop assistants in store increasingly redundant, and this trend is clearly set to continue.”