UK employment hit its highest rate since records began back in 1972, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed on Tuesday. The UK’s jobless rate fell to 3.9%, down from 4% recorded the month before. Those not in employment fell by 35,000 to 1.338 million during the final quarter of the year. Meanwhile, employment levels hit record levels of 76.1% during the three months to January. ONS senior statistician Matt Hughes said: “The employment rate has reached a new record high, while the proportion of people who are neither working nor looking for a job – the so-called ‘economic inactivity rate’- is at a new record low.” The government minister for employment, Alok Sharma MP commented on the figures: “Today’s employment figures are further evidence of the strong economy the Chancellor detailed in last week’s spring statement, showing how our pro-business policies are delivering record employment. “2019 has continued to be a record breaker, with the employment rate topping 76% for the first time, record female employment and unemployment falling below 4% for the first time in 44 years. “Our jobs market remains resilient as we see more people than ever before benefitting from earning a wage. By backing the Government’s Brexit deal and giving certainty to business, MPs have the chance to safeguard this jobs track record.” Meanwhile former home secretary and current minister for work and pensions Amber Rudd MP tweeted the following:

💥 Unemployment at a 44 year low. 💥 Employment rate at a record high. 💥 32.7 million people taking home a wage. 💥 Wages have now outpaced inflation for a year. 💥 The number of people in work rose by 222,000, the largest increase for years.https://t.co/fsHoXZTQqo

— Amber Rudd MP (@AmberRuddHR) March 19, 2019

https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js The latest ONS employment figures will be a welcome development for the government, particularly as the UK economy continues to suffer amid ongoing Brexit-related uncertainty. The UK is still set to leave the EU on the 29 March in 11 days, nevertheless, parliament has yet to agree upon a deal.  

Fine wine auction sales for the past year are tempting even hardened traditional investors to get involved in the market. Figures from Sotheby’s 2018 Wine Market Report show that during 2018 global wine auction sales shot up by more than 50%, rocketing from $67 million in 2017 to $98 million across 2018. For the first time ever combined wine and spirits sales at auction were worth over US$100 million, demonstrating the strength of the wine market against a backdrop of economic uncertainty and slowdown. Average prices per lot grew by 67%, although Sotheby’s reported slightly fewer lots overall than the previous year. According to Sotheby’s, the fine wine auction market has blossomed over the past couple of decades with the auction house bringing in a remarkable $1.1 billion in sales since 1995. One of the most exciting auction results during this period came last autumn when a single bottle of 1945 Romanée-Conti Burgundy sold for $558,000 at a Sotheby’s auction. The winning bid came from a private Asian buyer who set a new record both for the highest-ever price for a 750ml bottle of Burgundy and the highest-ever for any single bottle at auction. There are several key drivers behind this impressive growth. The first is renewed demand from Asian buyers who were behind 63% of sales. Of particular interest for these buyers are fine Burgundies which represented an impressive 43% of total auction sales. Even more tellingly, the greatest Burgundy producer of all, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, accounted for 21% of sales or $24 million, demonstrating collectors’ continued appetite for some of the world’s most expensive and sought-after wines. Another critical factor behind the strength of auction sales in 2018 was the high number of single-owner collections going under the hammer. These collections are extremely popular and valuable to collectors since they have usually been stored in optimum conditions and are less likely to contain forgeries and fakes. During 2018 Sotheby’s managed to almost double single-owner collection auctions to 13. Of these the most anticipated was 100 lots from the personal cellar of legendary Burgundy winemaker Robert Drouhin which saw the record-breaking 1945 Romanée-Conti Burgundy sale mentioned earlier. Along with a strong collection of Château Lafite and Mouton Rothschild and entrepreneur Jerry Perenchio’s cellar which was full of rare Burgundy, these three key single-owner collection sales alone generated $56 million in sales. The figures also reveal another vital trend in the fine wine market; the continued turn away from Bordeaux to Burgundy and other less traditional wine regions like Spain, Italy and California. Prices for fine Bordeaux did increase by 63% in 2018, but this growth remains restricted to the elite chateau and for mature wines that are being purchased for immediate consumption. Overall, the future couldn’t look any brighter for the fine wine auction market, both for Sotheby’s and other big houses like Christie’s and Bonhams who both reported excellent sales in 2018. Auction sales are booming across the globe and more and more investors are preparing to take the plunge into this exciting world of opportunity.

Debenhams’ fifth-largest investor has called in quits as Mike Ashley battles for control over the struggling department store (LON:DEB). In an email to Financial News, Invesco Asset Management confirmed that it had sold its almost 5% stake in the company. Invesco Asset Management has declined to give a reason as to why it sold its stake. “I am no longer a shareholder in Debenhams,” said Martin Walker in an email Financial News. Martin Walker is the UK equities fund manager at Invesco. At the beginning of March, the Sports Direct (LON:SPD) boss Mike Ashley moved forward with attempts to control the struggling department store. Debenhams, however, responded with efforts to snatch back control from the Sports Direct boss. It announced that it was in “advanced” talks with banks to borrow £150 million. The fund aims to ensure that credit insurers restore cover for the department store’s suppliers, as well as enabling the business to restructure its store portfolio. This move was followed a few days later by an offer from Sports Direct to fund the entire £150 million loan. In addition to upping its share of the department store to 35%, Sports Direct has requested that Mike Ashley would also become a director and CEO of Debenhams. Equally, in the event of a whitewash agreement, the loan will be interest free. Debenhams responded that it has acknowledged Sports Direct’s proposal. Are investors in the department store chain tired of this game of chess? Invesco Asset Management has not commented why it has sold its entire stake, but Nick Burchett, UK equities manager at Cavendish told Financial News: “Debenhams risks being diluted and pushed into the ground. They shouldn’t spend all their time sitting in a boxing room with Mike Ashley. They should focus on improving the business.” At 08:46 GMT Tuesday, shares in Debenhams plc (LON:DEB) were trading -1.84%. Sports Direct International plc (LON:SPD) shares were up 1.35% as of 08:50 GMT.

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank confirmed over the weekend that they were discussing a potential merger, but doubts prevail. If the two banks are to merge, they would hold one fifth of the German retail banking market. Their joint employee numbers reach 140,000 workers across the globe. 91,700 of these are with Deutsche Bank and 49,000 with Commerzbank. The talks are expected to last a while and Commerzbank has said that the outcome is open, therefore many factors could impede the merger. Germany’s two largest banks both released statements regarding the discussions after separate meetings of their management boards. “In light or arising opportunities, the management board of Deutsche Bank has decided to review strategic options,” Deutsche Bank’s statement read. “In this context we confirm that we are engaging in discussions with Commerzbank.” According to Reuters, Deutsche Bank’s Chief Executive, Christian Sewing, told employees that the brank still aimed “to remain a global bank with a strong capital markets business… with a global network.” Last year, Germany’s leading banking supervisor warned in an interview with Handelsblatt newspaper that the two large banks should not merge. The executive director at Bafin, Raimund Roeseler, said that a merger would not improve on the banks’ weaker earnings. “If I take two big problems and turn them into one really big problem, then I’m not making the situation any better,” Raimund Roeseler said. “After the financial crisis there was an intense debate about the issue of ‘too big to fail’, and whether banks should be allowed to grow so big that they can’t be allowed to go bust,” he continued. The executive director of the financial regulator warned last year that if the two banks were to merge, the same issue would arise again. Should the two largest banks merge? The merger would create a combined business with roughly €1.81 trillion worth of assets. This would make it Europe’s fourth largest. Combined revenue would come in at €34 billion. A finance activist and ex-member of the German parliament, Gerhard Schick, commented: “We do not see a national champion here, but a shaky zombie bank that could lead to another billion-euro grave for the German state. Why should we take this risk?” A representative of German union Verdi also expressed doubts and has said that the merger between the two rivalling banks could cost as many as 30,000 jobs in the long term. Over a shorter time frame, 10,000 jobs are at risk. As a result of this issue, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff announced that the German government would assess the job losses. According to Bild newspaper, Chancellery Chief Helge Braun said “the government is never passive when it comes to deals of such magnitude.”

JD Wetherspoon’s (LON:JDW) reported its interim results for the 26 weeks to 27 January 2019, with profits falling over the period. JD Wetherspoon said that revenue totalled £889.6 million, up 7.1% from £830.4 million in 2018. Like-for-like sales rose 6.3%. However, the pub group said that profit before tax fell by 18.9% to £50.3 million, compared to £62 million a year ago. This was attributed to higher labour costs, which rose by £33 million compared to the year before. In addition to wage pressures, interest payments, utility bills and repairs were also blamed for the fall. JD Wetherspoon’s chairman Tim Martin, a vocal Brexit supporter, also addressed Brexit in his future outlook, noting that the “establishment” and “doomsters” ignore the “most powerful nexus in economics, between democracy and prosperity”. Thus far, the firm has opted to stop selling Italian Prosecco and French Champagne and replace them with British or Australian sparkling wines. Martin also added that sales in the six weeks to March 10 had proved strong up 9.6%, bolstered by the weather. As a result, the company said that despite higher costs, its trading forecast remains unchanged. JD Wetherspoon’s is a pub company that operates in the United Kingdom. It owns around 900 locations, with its first having opened in Muswell Hill in North London. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. Shares in the London-listed firm are currently +0.92% on the back of the results.