Home Office tightens golden visa rules after earlier failed crackdown March 7, 2019 The Home Office announced reforms to so-called golden visas for wealthy investors today, following an embarrassing debacle last year when it announced their suspension before being forced to backtrack days later. Under reforms to the Tier 1 (Investor) scheme, applicants will be required to prove they have control of the £2m they are required to [...]
Satellite telecoms firm Inmarsat boosts revenue due to in-flight broadband demand March 7, 2019 Satellite communications firm Inmarsat has reported increased revenue driven by demand for in-flight broadband. Shares in the company jumped more than five per cent as the company, which provides communications to ships, aircraft and remote locations, posted its full-year results. Read more: Satellite firm Inmarsat shares fall The figures Revenue increased by 5.3 per cent [...]
John Lewis slashes bonus as profits plummet 45 per cent in ‘challenging’ market March 7, 2019 John Lewis has cut its staff bonus after posting a 45 per cent fall in profits as the retailer battles against high street woes. Profit before tax dropped to £160m last year as the department store chain slashed prices in a bid to combat declining footfall and excess retail space. Read more: John Lewis considers cutting staff [...]
Trump was brave to leave North Korea empty-handed March 7, 2019 He came he saw, he left empty-handed. For the self-proclaimed consummate deal-maker that is President Donald Trump, it would not be an understatement to say that last week’s second summit with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un on North Korea’s prospective denuclearisation did not go quite according to plan. Trump’s gamble had been that his personal rapport with [...]
If Kylie Jenner can be an entrepreneurial superstar, so can the rest of Generation Z March 7, 2019 Generation Z are the most entrepreneurial age group, according to recent research. While we all thought that millennials were the trailblazers in terms of entrepreneurship, today’s 16-24-year-olds knock them out of the park. And they are 20 per cent more likely to want to start a business than their parents. What’s even more interesting is the [...]
Retirement villages extend life expectancy for women March 7, 2019 | City Talk Retirement villages can boost the longevity of women by as much as five years compared to the general population, according to a new Cass Business School report. Analysing 100 years’ worth of residents’ records from the Whiteley Homes Trust, a retirement village in Surrey which opened in 1917 to provide housing and support for people [...]
UK house prices: Experts cast doubt on ‘volatile’ Halifax price hike figures March 7, 2019 House prices rose almost three per cent at the start of 2019 compared to the same period last year, new figures revealed today. Annual house price growth hit 2.8 per cent in the three months to February compared to the corresponding time in 2018, Halifax’s house price index said today – much higher than the [...]
DEBATE: In light of this week’s Access to Cash Review, is the UK ready to go cashless? March 7, 2019 In light of this week’s Access to Cash Review, is the UK ready to go cashless? Abhijit Deb, head of banking and financial services (UK&I) at Cognizant, says YES. From contactless card technology to smartphone payments, we have seen innovations draw much of the public away from cash to new methods. Convenience is obviously a big [...]
A market cap is the quickest way to inject some competition into audit March 7, 2019 As you read this, the Kingman review, the Competition and Markets Authority review, the Brydon review, and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Select Committee are all scrutinising the audit profession following a series of high-profile scandals. Failures such as Carillion, BHS, and Patisserie Valerie present very different problems, but each case rightly led to [...]
Melrose moves into red after GKN takeover, but shareholders remain undeterred March 7, 2019 Acquisition specialist Melrose Industries fell into the red in 2018 after the £8bn takeover of aerospace parts group GKN, but shares rose five per cent on Thursday morning investors were buoyed by strong underlying profits. The FTSE 100 firm, which specialises in buying and improving underperforming businesses, said the hostile takeover of GKN had helped [...]