UK supermarket Sainsbury is struggling to keep up with supermarket rivals and discounters in a British grocery market under pressure from a Brexit-induced fall in the value of sterling.

Aberdeen Asset Management yesterday said total assets fell 3% to £302.7bn (€351m) in the first quarter of its financial year, as fresh outflows after the US election overshadowed market gains.

Legal & General’s balance sheet has proven resilient following the UK’s decision to leave the EU partly because the British insurer trimmed its exposure to riskier assets before the vote.

Britain may have voted 52% in favour of leaving the EU, but Brexit won’t become a reality unless voted for by members of parliament, according to lawyer Geoffrey Robertson.

Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, said its recovery was gaining pace but warned a supermarket price war meant profit growth would be hard to deliver this year.

Steve Rowe, the new head of British retailer Marks and Spencer yesterday conceded he had his work cut out to end five years of almost constant falls in clothing sales after the firm suffered another quarterly decline.

Conglomerates were all the rage in the 1960s, but fell out of fashion along with the beehive hairdo. Primark is about to remind us why. The fast-growing clothing operation is part of Associated British Foods (ABF), whose other businesses include sugar processing, food ingredients and brands such as Twinings Tea, as well as agriculture.

Marks & Spencer chief executive Marc Bolland will step down after failing to revive clothing sales in almost six years at the British retailing bellwether.

Santander UK is reportedly considering a surprise bid for 300 Royal Bank of Scotland branches in the UK after pulling out of the same deal three years ago.

The £5.6 billion takeover of More Than owner RSA by rival Zurich has collapsed after a slump in the Swiss group’s general insurance business prompted it to abandon the deal.

Suppliers can expect a better deal from Britain’s biggest supermarket chain as Tesco tries to sustain a tentative revival — providing that their wares survive a cull that is removing thousands of products from shelves.

Shares in Guinness maker Diageo built up a head today as investors responded to reports that Brazil’s richest man was preparing a bid for the British drinks maker.

British supermarket Morrisons has been saved at the last minute from being kicked out of London’s blue chip index after its first rise in sales for nearly 18 months sent shares surging.

Marks & Spencer has raised hopes that it has finally rediscovered a winning formula. Yesterday, it reported a rise in annual profit for the first time in four years and its intention to return excess cash to shareholders.

Sales growth at the Primark discount fashion chain has accelerated over the last eight weeks as falling fuel prices boost shoppers’ disposable income, Associated British Foods said yesterday.

A fresh decline in clothing sales piled more pressure on Marks & Spencer boss Marc Bolland today after a Christmas beset by online delivery problems.

State-backed Lloyds Banking Group is reportedly expected to announce thousands of job cuts as it publishes latest financial results with a strategic update today.

Tesco will reveal a steep fall in half-year profits next week in the wake of a catalogue of disasters including a £250m accounting error that has seen eight of its executives suspended.

Embattled supermarket Tesco has announced that it is beefing up its board as it battles sliding sales and faces a probe into a £250m accounting blunder.

The financial watchdog in Britain has launched a full probe into the Tesco accounting scandal, which has wiped £4bn (€5.1bn) off the troubled grocer’s stock market value.

Tesco has been plunged into fresh turmoil following the suspension of four UK executives while it investigates a £250m over-statement of profits.

Tesco has launched an investigation after revealing that its guidance on half-year profits was overstated by around £250 million.

Half of British households shopped at Aldi or Lidl at least once over the summer as the discounters kept up their pressure on the “big four” supermarkets there.

Shares in TSB rose by as much as 15% today as the lender returned to the stock market after nearly two decades.

Airline stocks endured a turbulent session today after a profits warning from German carrier Lufthansa shook investors in the sector.

Britain’s biggest supermarket Tesco is expected to post a third successive quarter of worsening sales when latest trading figures are published tomorrow.

The UK government has sold £4.2bn (€5bn) worth of shares in Lloyds Banking Group to cut its stake in the country’s largest retail bank to under 25% and putting it on course for a complete exit in the next year.

Debenhams, the UK’s second- largest department-store chain, became the first victim of increased holiday discounting by Britain’s retailers as it said profit will drop in the first half of the financial year.

Hopes of an international compromise on the Syrian crisis fuelled gains on the FTSE 100 Index as oil prices also eased back from recent highs.

European shares rose yesterday, spurred higher after US jobs data missed expectations, fuelling hopes stimulus from the Federal Reserve will be continued at full pace beyond September.

Supermarket giant Tesco has revealed plans to bolster its upmarket credentials by sponsoring hit period drama Downton Abbey.

Insurance giant Aviva reported a “satisfactory” first half after cost-cutting boosted earnings by 5%, but delivered another blow to investors as it almost halved its interim dividend payout.

Sheilas’ Wheels owner esure warned that premium income growth was set to slow as rates come under pressure amid a car insurance price war.

European stock markets reacted badly to the resignation of the Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive, Stephen Hester, and the indication that central banks may end their support of economies.

Tesco boss Philip Clarke will face pressure to deliver on his £1 billion turnaround plan today when annual results are expected to reveal a sales slowdown and the first fall in annual profits for 20 years.

Cheltenham punters have put a dent in the profits of bookmakers Ladbrokes, which yesterday warned investors it expected annual operating profit to fall after a poor performance from horse racing and online gaming in the first quarter.

Marks & Spencer reported sharply contrasting fortunes today as buoyant trading in its food halls helped offset more dismal sales figures in clothing.

Primark/Penneys is one of Europe’s fastest growing fashion chains. And it has nothing to do with the web, says Sarah Shannon

Supermarket giant Tesco will unveil its first fall in profits for nearly 20 years today as weaker international sales add to its floundering UK performance.

Supermarket giant Tesco will unveil its first fall in profits for nearly 20 years tomorrow as weaker international sales add to its floundering UK performance.

More than 100,000 people caught up in the Ulster Bank crisis could be in line for compensation once the scandal is resolved.