6:10 am, May 7, 2023
Coronation celebrations continue with lunches and concert
The coronation celebrations will continue on Sunday with big lunches attended by royals and a star-studded concert at Windsor Castle.
The King and Queen will join around 20,000 members of the public at the coronation concert where, along with other family members, they will see performances by Take That, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.
Singers Perry and Richie were among the stars at Saturday’s coronation ceremony in Westminster Abbey.
Head of anti-monarchy protesters released
The chief executive of an anti-monarchy group who was among 52 people arrested on the day of the King’s coronation has been released after nearly 16 hours in police custody.
Graham Smith was released by the Met Police around 11pm on Saturday, while the majority of his Republic colleagues continued to be held.
Posting to Twitter, Mr Smith said there was ‘no longer a right to peaceful protest in the UK’.
TSB warns about social media scams
TSB has issued a warning on the scale of social media scams taking place through services such as Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, as the bank says a significant proportion of the cases it sees have been coming through these platforms.
The bank said that its own internal data indicates scams that come through these Meta-owned companies account for around 80 per cent of fraud cases within the three biggest fraud categories at TSB.
TSB analysed its customer fraud data from January 2021 to December 2022 to make the findings. The data relates to cases where the platform has been recorded.
Sunak hosts coronation lunch for volunteers
The prime minister and his wife will welcome volunteers, Ukrainian refugees in the UK, and youth groups to Downing Street for a lunch to mark the coronation.
Rishi Sunak and Akshata Murty will host the event on Sunday as part of the Big Lunch celebrations taking place across the country over the coronation weekend.
They will dine on food sourced from across the UK, including beef from Gloucestershire, Scottish Loch Duart salmon, Northern Irish soda bread, and ice cream from Wales, according to No 10.
UK housebuilding weakest since May 2020
UK housebuilding activity declined at the sharpest rate in almost three years in April amid weaker demand and higher mortgages rates, according to figures.
However, the overall construction sector grew further as the decline in the residential market was offset by rising volumes of commercial and civil engineering activity.
The latest S&P Global/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index scored 51.1 last month, lifting slightly from 50.7 in March.
Any score below 50 is considered a decline, whereas anything above is seen as growth.
Bookings to Dublin and Rome soar over coronation weekend
Britons are looking to make use of the extra bank holiday for the King’s coronation and escape the UK for a weekend getaway, new figures suggest.
Accommodation search website Trivago said it has seen a doubling of UK bookings in Rome and nearly a doubling in Dublin over the coronation weekend, up 101% and 77% respectively.
It comes as hotels in London and surrounding areas have ramped up their prices amid soaring demand from visitors from across the UK and overseas.
Saturday’s Car Dealer headline you might have missed
- Full speed ahead as Porsche Centre Preston signs Supercup deal with Adam Smalley
- Family-run dealer group Yeomans opens its eighth Nissan dealership in Plymouth
Asos expected to post loss
Online fashion giant Asos is expected to post another half-year loss and shareholders will hope for signs of improving demand from cash-strapped shoppers.
It is among fast-fashion retailers to have become heavily pressurised over the past year by a brutal combination of rocketing costs, supply chain disruption and weaker consumer spending.
The FTSE 250 company has seen its share drop by almost half since this time last year as a result, following two profit warnings in 2022.
However, the group’s stock has stabilised in recent months and has pushed forward with efforts to slash costs in order to bolster profitability.
Pound leaps further and European markets boosted
The FTSE swung back higher on Friday as improved US economic data offset the impact of the strong pound.
In London, some multinationals were impacted by the currency concerns of the buoyant pound but found extra confidence in better-than-expected jobs figures from the US.
The FTSE 100 moved 0.98 per cent, or 75.74 points, higher to finish at 7,778.38.
Elsewhere in Europe, the mood was similarly improved as a result of the economic data.
Sunnier and warmer
Rain or drizzle in the east will become scattered heavy showers by afternoon today, according to the Met Office, but many other areas will be dry with sunny spells.
In the northeast low cloud and an onshore breeze will maintain a cold feel but elsewhere it will feel warmer.
Tonight, there will be cloud, rain and stronger winds in the west in the evening but these will move east by tomorrow morning.
