Germany’s forced marriage of Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank may not work out March 19, 2019 Germany seems to be obsessed with the idea of creating a national banking champion. Is it a way of standing up to the big-ticket US banks, or reaffirming Germany’s dominance as the biggest European economy? Either way, it looks like the country is pushing to create yet another “too big to fail” bank. Back in [...]
Cadbury pulls Freddo ad campaign amid accusations it encouraged children to loot March 19, 2019 Chocolate manufacturer Cadbury has scrapped an ad campaign following complaints it encouraged children to carry out “illegal excavation and looting”. The Freddo Treasures campaign, which urged children to “grab your metal detector and go hunting for Roman riches”, faced backlash from archaeologists and a government minister, who pointed out digging without the landowner’s consent is [...]
Theresa May gathers cabinet after Bercow deals fresh blow to her Brexit deal March 19, 2019 Theresa May is set to push on with her deal despite Commons speaker John Bercow threatening to derail the process yesterday. Read more: 'Constitutional crisis' as Bercow blocks another vote on May's Brexit deal Today Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay suggested a vote could occur next week despite Bercow saying “substantial changes” must be made to [...]
Metro Bank urged to shake up board amid regulatory probes as it looks to hire new risk managers March 19, 2019 Metro Bank has come under pressure to shake up its board amid regulatory probes into a loans blunder. The challenger bank is set to make changes to its senior management team but there are still no major casualties following the error, which has sent shares tumbling more than 50 per cent and has sparked two [...]
Nicky Morgan calls for investigation into possible regulatory failings in collapse of lender London Capital & Finance March 19, 2019 The chair of the Treasury Committee Nicky Morgan MP has called for an investigation into whether there were regulatory failings surrounding the collapse of lender London Capital & Finance (LC&F) which went into administration in December. Morgan has written to the board of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ask it to consider whether the [...]
Mulberry finance boss heads for the exit March 19, 2019 Mulberry has announced the resignation of its finance chief this morning, who is departing the luxury fashion house months after it posted widening losses and suffered a sharp drop in its share price. Neil Ritchie, who took over the post as group finance director just three years ago, will step down from his role at [...]
Employment rate jumps to record high as labour market shrugs off Brexit concerns March 19, 2019 The UK’s employment rate soared to a new record high today and unemployment fell to a fresh low as the labour market shrugged off Brexit concerns. The employment rate hit 76.1 per cent for November 2018 to January 2019, Office for National Statistics data revealed today, to a new record of 32.7m people – 473,000 higher [...]
Online retailer Asos confident on full-year target despite sales dipping below growth forecast March 19, 2019 Asos was bullish on hitting its downgraded full-year targets today as it revealed double digit sales growth for the three months to the end of February. Read more: Asos bosses snap up cheap shares after day of horror The online retailer saw revenue rise 13 per cent year on year over the quarter, it revealed in [...]
Putting sustainability at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution March 19, 2019 The first, second and third industrial revolutions all forged paths for momentous progress, driven by human ingenuity in manufacturing, science and technology. The unintended consequences, however, were that each revolution became markedly more detrimental to our planet, and – in many cases – people and their communities. The clock is running down to the point [...]
Is the proposed ban on TV junk food ads before 9pm just another example of nanny state regulation? March 19, 2019 Is the proposed ban on TV junk food ads before 9pm just another example of nanny state regulation? Daniel Pryor, head of programmes at the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. When the government wants to treat TV ads for fruit juice like soft porn, you know something has gone horribly wrong. There’s no legal definition of [...]