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ISSUE 4,026
NOT-SO-CRUEL SUMMER COST OF LIVING CRISIS? BRITS SHAKE IT OFF WITH TAYLOR SWIFT TICKETS BOOSTING CARD SPENDING – BUT RISE IN BUY NOW PAY LATER PURCHASES COULD LEAVE BLANK SPACE IN BANK ACCOUNTS LATER THIS YEAR
JESS JONES AND LAURA MCGUIRE A RUSH for tickets to Taylor Swift’s longanticipated London gigs has fuelled a summer card spending splurge. The megastar’s Eras Tour, which went on sale in July, drove a 15 per cent year-on-year spike in entertainment spending according to the latest data from Barclays. It is expected that the gigs themselves, held next summer, will provide a huge consumer spending boon to the London economy. Consumer spending overall grew four per cent year-on-year in July, below the rate of inflation, suggesting cutbacks are occurring in other areas. It was a less buoyant month for retailers as new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show total sales increased by just 1.5 per cent month-on-month in July, slower than last year’s comparator. “The slowing pace of retail price inflation
fed through into slower sales this July. Spend was further depressed by the damp weather, which did no favours to sales of clothing, and other seasonal goods,” Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said. There were further signs that Brits were pushing the limits of their spending envelopes in fresh e-commerce data. UK consumers spent £9.75bn online in July, with £1.5bn of it serviced by buy now, pay later products. The July splurge – sustainable or otherwise – is likely to give third quarter GDP figures a boost when they emerge later in the year. On Friday, GDP figures for June are likely to also show a small uptick in growth, with analysts at Oxford Economics and Pantheon Macroeconomics both expecting a 0.2 per cent month-on-month rise, helped by a weak May comparator due to the King’s Coronation.
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Top lobbyist at HSBC sorry for ‘weak’ call JAMES SILVER A SENIOR HSBC exec has apologised after accusing the UK of being ‘weak’ by responding to American pressure to toughen its stance on China. Sir Sherard Cowper-Coles (pictured) made the comments at a closed-door event, which were then leaked to Bloomberg News. The former diplomat said he was “speaking at a private event under Chatham House Rules and my personal comments do not reflect the views of HSBC. “I apologise for any offence caused.” HSBC also said the remarks were of a personal nature. HSBC, which makes around four of every five pounds of its profit in Asia, has been criticised in the past for being too close to China. In particular, it was slammed for backing Hong Kong’s National Security Law, which effectively criminalised protest and dissent in the now Beijing-held territory. The UK has largely followed the US’ lead in an ongoing data and tariffs tit-for-tat it has entered into with China.
Just what employees wanted: A hologram boss that can be in two places at once SASCHA O’SULLIVAN AND ELENA SINISCALCO C-SUITE execs have started using holograms powered by artificial intelligence to attend board meetings and events while remaining physically in other locations – for as much as £35,000. Mike Blackman, the managing
director of Integrated Systems Europe, an annual audiovisual conference, was one of the first to test the technology. While at a conference in Oman, Blackman was able to beam his likeness into an award ceremony in Spain – appearing on stage and ‘collecting’ his award. Blackman said the experience of
live streaming as a full body avatar was “highly innovative”. The technology, developed by Hypervsn, allows people to live stream themselves to other locations with a “digital avatar”. Alexander Staredetko, communications leader at Hypervsn, said there had been an uptick in interest Bosses here, bosses there, bosses everywhere from Square Mile executives.
“We are noticing more interest in this solution from C-level executives and their teams”, he told City A.M., with even virtual attendance at board meetings on the cards. The full suite of options would cost a prospective digital boss a very real £35,000. £ WE GIVE IT A TRY: PAGE 15
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