Eyes were on the stock markets this week as both the Dow Jones and the FTSE 100 plunged. Tesco could be facing a record equal pay claim and government documents show which parts of the UK will be hardest hit by Brexit. Also in the news, Elon Musk sent the world’s most powerful rocket into space in the same week that Tesla reported record losses.
The Dow Jones suffered its worst day in more than six years on Monday with the industrial average dropping 1,175 points. Markets suffered globally and the FTSE 100 then suffered its biggest one-day fall since the Brexit vote. The Evening Standard calculated that £50bn was wiped from the market. The Dow had another tough day on Thursday and there is an atmosphere of uncertainty among investors.
Tesco could be facing a bill of £4bn in Britain’s largest equal pay claim to date. While the supermarket said that it does work to ensure that its staff are paid “fairly and equally”, law firm Leigh Day has been contacted by over 1,000 members of Tesco staff with equal pay claims. The firm says that hourly pay for women is usually £8 an hour, whereas men can earn £11 an hour.
Brexit is ever-present in headlines as details from “the government’s own secret analysis” were reported by The Guardian. The report shows which areas of the UK would be hit hardest in different Brexit outcomes with the North East suffering the most in all scenarios. London is expected to see the least impact.
Following the collapse of Carillion more than 900 workers have lost their jobs, however, 2,250 jobs have so far been saved.
Elon Musk’s Falcon Heavy rocket was successfully launched on Tuesday. The rocket is more than twice as powerful as its closest competitor and, according to Musk, costs a third as much as the Delta IV Heavy. Musk used his old Tesla sports car and a mannequin as the payload and SpaceX streamed the launch live. It wasn’t all good news for Musk this week, however, as Tesla reported its biggest quarterly losses ever.
View from SpaceX Launch Control. Apparently, there is a car in orbit around Earth. pic.twitter.com/QljN2VnL1O
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 6, 2018
