Water bills, London house prices, ASOS: your commercial news round-up
updated on 18 July 2019
Everyone knows that aspiring lawyers are not expected to be ready-made economists, but they should have a solid understanding of how the business world is moving and which stories are impacting the world more broadly. Take a look at the below news articles for a good place to start your research, especially if you have an interview or assessment centre coming up:
- Water bills in England and Wales are to be cut by an average of £50 over the next five years as plans are put in place by the industry regulator Ofwat. Only three out of 17 water firms passed the latest review by Ofwat, with the new rules aiming to provide better service and value for money for customers. There has been widespread discontent with water providers, especially after problems such as leaks in recent years.
- House prices in London have fallen at the fastest rate in almost a decade with the Office for National Statistics reporting a 4.4% decline from May 2018 to 2019. Across the rest of the UK figures showed a slowdown with prices increasing by 1.2% in the year to May, down from 1.5% in April.
- Online retailer ASOS has announced that it is expected to make a much lower profit this year than previously anticipated – between £30 - £35 million instead of the forecasted £55 million. The news caused shares of the brand to dip 27% as ASOS blamed problems at its warehouses in the US and Europe limiting the availability of its products in these areas. Despite this, sales across the group were up by 12% in the four months to the end of June.
- After the excitement of this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup, the BBC has bought the rights for the 2021 UEFA Women’s European Championships which will be taking place in England. Director of BBC Sport Barbara Slater said: "At the start of this summer we wanted to shift the dial on women's football and I feel the phenomenal coverage from France has done just that. The BBC's sport portfolio continues to go from strength to strength and we're thrilled to add the 2021 Euros to that."
Be sure to check the News every Thursday for this weekly commercial news round-up. Follow @LawCareersNetUK on Twitter and like us on Facebook for instant business news updates.
