Rachel Reeves on growth: “It means working with business”
Plus, Rightmove bid increased, JCB results boost and how FIFA was outplayed by Electronic Arts
Rachel Reeves (Image: Jonathan Brady - Pool/Getty Images)
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Business Agenda
A summary of the most important business news
1. Rachel Reeves, the chancellor, has talked up the economic outlook for the UK after the Labour government was accused of being too gloomy. Reeves is addressing the Labour party conference in Liverpool today and said ahead of the speech: “That’s why my message to business is this: if growth is the challenge, then investment is the solution — and I want to work with you to deliver that. We ran as a pro-business party and we are governing as a pro-business party.” You can read more in The Times here.
2. The Australian company REA has increased its takeover bid for Rightmove, the online property portal, to £6.1bn. Statement here.
3. JCB, one of the largest private companies in the UK, has published its annual results. JCB reported that annual sales rose 14 per cent to £6.5bn in 2023 while pre-tax profits rose 44 per cent to £806m. The company’s chairman is Lord Bamford and the chief executive is Graeme Macdonald. You can read more here.
4. The American owner of Italian football team Roma is close to buying Everton, according to a report by Friedkin’s business – Friedkin Group – is one of the world’s largest distributors of Toyota vehicles and also owns luxury hotels. Story here.
5. A fascinating new report has looked at the challenges facing the UK economy and why it has stagnated compared to other countries. Foundations lays out some troubling stats about the UK – such as the much higher costs it faces to build new transport infrastructure compared to France and the lack of housing relative to the size of the population. “It is difficult to build almost anything, anywhere,” the report says. You can find the report here.
Business Question
According to the EY CEO Pulse Survey, what percentage of the most confident CEOs plan to make an acquisition over the next 12 months?
A. 76 per cent
B. 66 per cent
C. 59 per cent
D. 48 per cent
The answer can be found at the bottom of the page.
Business Thinker
Deep dives on business and leadership
⚽ How FIFA was outplayed by Electronic Arts
EA Sports has kicked off a new era for the world’s most popular football video game, rebranding its flagship title from “FIFA” to “EA Sports FC” after a high-profile split with football’s governing body. Despite the name change, early signs suggest the gamble has paid off, with in-game spending and revenues growing. Freed from FIFA’s constraints, EA has forged new partnerships and enhanced its innovation, solidifying its dominance in the gaming world. Meanwhile, FIFA is still searching for a way to strike back.
💼 Britain should learn from the revival of America’s labour force
Boosting capital investment has long been seen as the key to growing the UK economy, but after decades of underinvestment, attention is shifting to another crucial factor: labour. With millions of working-age individuals currently inactive, getting more people into well-paid employment could be the quickest way to tackle the nation’s economic challenges. Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Liberum, draws lessons from the US that the UK could unlock untapped potential and reverse its subdued growth outlook.
ESG is at an inflexion point. It has come to represent a broad and inchoate aspiration for what business should be doing beyond maximising shareholder value. With ESG advocates on the defensive, business leaders need a new roadmap to determine which factors to incorporate into their business strategies and operations – and their political advocacy – and how they will communicate this to their stakeholders. Harvard Business Review gives approaches that leaders could adopt to do this.
Business Quote
Inspiration from leaders
“Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder.”
– Sheryl Sandberg
Business Leader
The best of our content
📞 The rise and fall of the Yellow Pages
🚫 Sorry, but Brits need to stop apologising and love success
♀️ Let’s narrow the divide on the unfinished business of pay gaps
And finally…
A pygmy hippo in Thailand has become an internet star. She was born on 10 July this year at the Khao Kheow Open Zoo. The zoo shared an image of the newborn on social media, which promptly went viral. After a public poll, she was given the name Moo Deng, which literally translates to “bouncy pig”. Visitor numbers have more than doubled at the zoo and several companies have used her in adverts.
I’d highly suggest giving this a watch on your next coffee break:
The answer to today’s Business Question is C. 59 per cent.
