BUSINESS LIVE: Hays’s new boss; Harbour Energy; James Cropper; FTSE edges up

Aldi UK has called on Wilko workers fearful of losing their jobs to get in touch as the supermarket has over 6,000 store vacancies available.

Aldi previously said it was creating 800 jobs in its new stores over the coming months and today added that it was also recruiting for a ‘large volume’ of other store roles across the country as its expansion continues.

Recruitment groups Hays has appointed insider Dirk Hahn as its new chief executive, while also seeing its profit fall in the last year and warning of fresh job cuts.

This follows an announcement on 23 February that the company had started a process to identify a successor to Alistair Cox.

Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King claimed yesterday the time for rapid interest rate increases is over as shock economic figures raised fears that Britain is heading for recession.

The data showed private sector output shrank this month at the fastest pace since January 2021 when Britain was in lockdown.

Recruitment groups Hays has appointed insider Dirk Hahn as its new chief executive, while also seeing its profit fall in the last year and warning of fresh job cuts.

This follows an announcement on 23 February that the company had started a process to identify a successor to Alistair Cox.

Sterling and gilt yields tumbled yesterday as mounting fears of recession saw investors scale back bets on where interest rates will peak.

As central bankers headed to Jackson Hole in Wyoming in the US for their annual chinwag, a set of bleak reports showed private sector activity across Britain and the eurozone in sharp decline as inflation and rising borrowing costs take their toll.

More homes are going up for rent, as stubborn owners increasingly shift from selling to letting when they don’t get the price they want.

Two years of near-double digit rent increases have seen renting become increasingly expensive, with demand from tenants far outstripping the supply of homes.

Hundreds of Wilko stores are set to close and thousands of staff will lose their jobs after talks to buy it collapsed without a rescue deal last night.

The 93-year-old chain tumbled into administration this month – putting 400 stores and 12,000 jobs at risk.

North Sea oil and gas producer Ithaca Energy said the windfall tax has forced it to slash production in the UK.

The FTSE 250 company said it was writing off £58m as a direct impact from the levy, pushing it to scale back plans for the second half of 2023 and into 2024.

The pound at 8am was $1.2704 compared to $1.2713 at the previous close.