6:40 am, January 26, 2026
Lloyds set to see annual profits rise despite motor finance hit
Lloyds Banking Group will be first out of the stalls with its annual results on Thursday and is expected to reveal higher profits despite another hefty hit for motor finance compensation.
In October, the high street lender reported a 36% slump in third quarter profits after booking an extra £800m charge to compensate customers unfairly sold a car loan.
The provision took its total motor finance compensation bill so far to an estimated £1.95bn. But most analysts are expecting the group to bounce back in the final three months of the year, with forecasts for profits to more than double to £1.7bn from £824m a year earlier.
Amazon planning to cut thousands more jobs – reports
Amazon is planning to cut thousands of jobs as it pushes forward with efforts to streamline its operations, according to reports.
The speculation comes only three months after the US tech giant revealed plans to cut around 14,000 corporate jobs in order to reduce bureaucracy across the business.
On Friday, Reuters and Bloomberg both reported that boss Andy Jassy is planning to announce further job cuts in the coming days. The reports indicate the redundancies would be in the thousands but could be as large as the previous wave of cuts.
Toyota reveals GR Yaris ‘Sébastien Ogier 9x World Champion’ edition at Monte Carlo rally
Toyota has kickstarted this year’s FIA World Rally Championship at the Rallye Monte Carlo by unveiling a limited-run version of its GR Yaris.
The GR Yaris Sébastien Ogier 9x World Champion edition pays tribute to the firm’s Gazoo Racing World Rally Team’s driver, Sébastien Ogier, for winning his ninth world title in the sport last year.
The car has been developed by the team at Toyota Gazoo Racing and Ogier himself. Updates include a new ‘SEB’ driving mode, Black Gravite colour scheme, and a vertical handbrake. Power remains the same and it’s unclear how many are destined for the UK market.
The markets
The FTSE 100 ended a volatile week in subdued fashion on Friday, closing slightly lower, despite a batch of encouraging economic data as retail sales, consumer confidence and business activity all picked up.
The FTSE 100 index closed down 6.61 points, 0.1%, at 10,143.44. The FTSE 250 ended 53.40 points lower, 0.2%, at 23,317.53, and the AIM All-Share closed up 5.08 points, 0.6%, at 822.75.
The pound was quoted higher at 1.3567 dollars at the time of the London equities close on Thursday, compared to 1.3437 dollars on Wednesday.
Starmer faces backlash as Labour blocks Burnham by-election bid
Sir Keir Starmer faces a backlash from Labour MPs and members after Andy Burnham was blocked from standing in a parliamentary by-election.
A 10-strong group from Labour’s National Executive Committee (NEC), including the prime minister himself, voted to deny Burnham permission to stand in Gorton and Denton at a meeting on Sunday. The NEC cited the cost of fighting a mayoral by-election and the risk of losing the Greater Manchester mayoralty.
But critics accused the prime minister and his supporters of blocking Burnham’s candidacy for factional reasons, fearing a leadership challenge from the mayor if he returned to Westminster.
Mahmood to present radical policing reforms to MPs
Shabana Mahmood will set out her plans for a radical overhaul of policing to MPs on Monday in reforms billed as the most significant in two centuries.
The home secretary is expected to make a statement to the Commons on Monday afternoon on her proposals, which include slashing the number of police forces and creating a new National Police Service (NPS) to tackle major crimes.
On Sunday, she promised ‘a new model of policing’ that could deal with local crime while the NPS would act as a ‘British FBI’ tackling cross-regional and international crime.
Latest on Car Dealer
Targa Florio Cars to ‘enter liquidation’ as it blames ‘difficult trading conditions’ for collapse
Targa Florio Cars director William Kirkham has told the BBC that the supercar dealer is ‘entering liquidation’ and he is ‘filing for bankruptcy’.
Autotrader boss confirms package prices will rise AGAIN – and explains why in Car Dealer Podcast
Autotrader’s CEO Nathan Coe has confirmed dealers will face a 5.5% increase in their package prices this year.
Failed used car dealership to be bulldozed despite opposition as councillors hit out at ‘eyesore’
A former used car dealership which fell into administration with multi-million-pound debts is to be demolished, despite strong criticism of the plans.
Family-run Chariots Specialist Cars named as BYD’s first UK Retailer of the Year
Chariots Specialist Cars has come out on top at BYD’s inaugural Dealer Awards, as the Chinese brand continues to grow its retail operation in Britain.
Former BMW apprentice technician John Beckley becomes new boss of Rolls-Royce in the UK
Rolls-Royce has a new UK boss after John Beckley was named as the luxury brand’s regional director for the United Kingdom, Europe and Central Asia.
Can car dealers sell cars on social media – join us for a Car Dealer Live masterclass
Is it possible to sell cars purely via social media? Well, for some dealers it’s more than just a pipe-dream. At Car Dealer Live, two dealers will explain how they’ve used the power of special media to reduce their advertising costs and pull in punters
Weather
Cloudy but mostly dry this morning, reports BBC Weather. Heavy rain spreads into western and southern areas through the afternoon and evening, turning to snow over some western hills.
Tonight brings further heavy rain and downpours in the south and west, with snow on northern hills. Eastern areas stay drier, but it will be windy everywhere.
