PPI scandal: Customer compensation cost big lenders £31bn in three years September 7, 2014 Britain’s five biggest banks have spent £31bn compensating customers for mis-selling and other bad behaviour over the past three years, KPMG analysts said today. Between them the giant lenders have given customers more than £20bn in payment protection insurance mis-selling alone, and have racked up the remainder on paying interest rate swap redress, as well [...]
Independent Scotland will start life with a 6.4pc deficit, say economists September 7, 2014 An independent Scotland could face a fiscal crisis at the moment of its birth, economists warned today, just 10 days ahead of the referendum. The new state would run a budget deficit of at least 6.4 per cent, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). As a result the government would have [...]
Liberal Democrats will offer free bus passes to 16-21 year olds in England, says Clegg September 7, 2014 The Liberal Democrats will today launch their pre-manifesto with a policy of subsidised bus passes for 16-21 year olds in England if the party is elected next May. The pledge, which will cost around £500m a year, will be part subsidised by abolishing free TV licenses and winter fuel payments for pensioners in households paying [...]
Scottish Independence: The risks for Cameron and Miliband September 7, 2014 BEHIND the scenes, MPs are already calling for David Cameron’s head if Scotland votes to leave the United Kingdom later this month. So how much of this is self-serving bluster and how likely is it that the Prime Minister will be forced out of Number 10? In reality, Cameron is unlikely to wave goodbye to [...]
Phones 4U eyes sale after conscious uncoupling with Vodafone September 7, 2014 All options are being considered at struggling high street mobile retailer Phones 4U after the firm was dropped by its key partner Vodafone in favour of a deeper contract with rival retailer Carphone Warehouse. During a call with the firm’s investors last Monday chief executive David Kassler said deep cost-cutting or a sale or merger [...]
Fashion chain Hobbs winds up sister label NW3 after £1.9m loss September 7, 2014 Hobbs’ trendy NW3 fashion line is to disappear by the end of the year as part of chairman Phil Wrigley’s turnaround plan for the loss-making group. The former New Look boss, who joined Hobbs in January, is leading a restructuring of the retailer after it suffered a £1.9m loss last year and saw sales slump [...]
Red is the new black at retailer Net-A-Porter September 7, 2014 Online luxury group Net-A-Porter enjoyed a 23 per cent rise in sales last year thanks to growth across its three websites, despite the business remaining in the red. The group, which is owned by Swiss luxury conglomerate Richemont, said revenues jumped to £533m in the year to 29 March 2014 as the launch of new [...]
Is UK recovery taking hold at last? Business confidence is at its highest level in a decade September 7, 2014 Confidence appears to be booming among UK firms, with businesses planning to increase investment budgets over the next year. Some economists have feared the recovery is overly reliant on consumption and borrowing, rather than more sustainable business investment. Yet optimism this summer has hit its highest level in more than a decade, according to professional [...]
Household spending rises – and luxury goods are making a comeback September 7, 2014 Household spending was up in August compared to 2013’s figure, as the economic recovery continues to grow, industry data showed today. Confident shoppers spent more on luxury goods like hotels and restaurants, as well as splashing out on shoes and clothes, according to figures from Visa Europe. Overall spending was up two per cent on [...]
Interview: YouGov’s Anthony Wells on dropping a Scottish independence bombshell September 7, 2014 “Polling is powerful stuff,” YouGov’s resident political expert Anthony Wells explains. “Any poll is a snapshot, but they are sort of self-fulfilling. If a party is doing well and people see it as doing well then they are more likely to back it.” That’s what’s happening in Scotland, Wells adds. If anyone understands the power [...]