John Lewis returns to profit but pays no staff bonus; bitcoin hits new high – business live
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The John Lewis Partnership has swung back to an annual profit but will not pay a bonus to staff for the second year in a row, saying investing in pay and improving its business must take priority.
The department store chain, which also owns Waitrose, made a £56m profit before tax in 2022-23, compared with a loss of £234m the year before. Excluding exceptional items, it moved to a £42m profit from a £78m loss.
Despite a “challenging year for the sector” amid the cost of living crisis, the retailer credited better sales growth, margin and productivity improvements.
Bitcoin has hit a new all-time high, rising to $73,699.99. The cryptocurrency has been scaling new highs, and got its latest boost this week after the UK financial regulator said it would allow the trading of cryptocurrency-backed securities.
The Financial Conduct Authority said on Monday it would “not object” to investment exchanges creating a UK-listed market segment for cryptoasset-backed exchange traded notes [cETNs], a financial product that can be traded like a stock.
However, the FCA added that it would not permit the sale of the cETNs to retail investors, or members of the public.
Demand for bitcoin has also soared in recent weeks after the US financial regulator approved exchange-traded funds [ETFs] – a basket of assets that can be bought and sold like shares on an exchange – that track the price of the cryptocurrency.
There is also an upcoming “halving” of bitcoin, in which the amount of new bitcoin being generated is reduced, which is bolstering the price, by reducing supply.
The Agenda
12.30pm GMT: US producer prices for February (forecast: 0.3%; prior: 0.3%)
12.30pm GMT: US retail sales for February (forecast: 0.8%; prior: -0.8%)