Mike Ashley tells HMV landlords: Give me six months rent-free January 25, 2019 Retail tycoon Mike Ashley is reportedly demanding a rent holiday from landlords of HMV stores as he negotiates a rescue deal for the music retailer. Ashley has written to HMV’s landlords to see a six-month period without having to pay rent if he buys the chain, according to reports. The landlords include major players in [...]
A post-Brexit City: MPs ask the right questions January 25, 2019 City in the morning, Westminster in the afternoon – there was a time when this was the daily routine for a number of MPs. These days, alas, one is hard-pressed to find a parliamentarian who truly understands the Square Mile, but former corporate lawyer Nicky Morgan can claim to be one of them. As head [...]
Customers left in limbo as Scottish-government backed energy supplier goes out of business January 25, 2019 Around 38,000 customers were been left in limbo today after a Scottish energy supplier became the eleventh provider to go out of business in just a year. Ofgem has encouraged those affected by Our Power’s collapse to sit tight as it works to find a new supplier to take over their accounts. Customers’ credit balances are [...]
Vodafone pauses installation of Huawei equipment in Europe as spying tensions mount January 25, 2019 Vodafone has said it will stop installing Huawei equipment in its network until there is greater clarity over whether Chinese authorities could use its products for spying. Chief executive Nick Read said the company would temporarily stop the installation of new Huawei equipment in its core telecoms infrastructure in Europe. Read more: Government under pressure to [...]
Volkswagen invests £750m in electric battery manufacturing ahead of e-vehicle mass production January 25, 2019 Volkswagen is to start making electric car batteries and charging points, as it readies itself to mass produce electric vehicles in the coming years. The German car maker said today it will invest $870m (£754m) by 2020 in developing parts for electric cars, adding its batteries operation would make new battery cells as well as [...]
Credit card spending shoots up as customers turn to extra protections January 25, 2019 UK credit card users spent almost nine percent more last month than the year before, as more customers start using credit as their go-to way of paying at the tills. Britain’s £11bn of credit card spending last month rose 8.8 per cent year-on-year, while the outstanding level of credit card borrowing grew 4.7 per cent [...]
ECB Headwinds, IMF downgrade for Europe – What Can We Expect from 2019? January 25, 2019 | City Talk This week bankers and leaders around the globe have come together for the World Economic Forum in Davos. A key topic has been what we can expect from 2019 and beyond, in the face of a global slowdown, climate change, the US shutdown, trade wars and Brexit. On top of that, the ECB revealed that [...]
Ilford named as London’s most burgled postcode while Chelsea is the least at risk January 25, 2019 East London's Ilford has been named as the most targeted area in the capital for burglaries, new figures show. Analysis from over two and a half million insurance claims revealed the postcode areas in the UK and London most at risk of burglaries, as well as the safest. Henley-in-Arden in Warwickshire, on the outskirts of [...]
Hyundai to lay off Chinese workers in wake of disappointing fourth-quarter sales January 25, 2019 South Korean car maker Hyundai has announced it is cutting jobs in China, after it reported a slump in quarterly sales in the country yesterday. “Hyundai Motor is reviewing various optimisation plans to enhance facility efficiency around the Chinese New Year holidays,” it said in a statement on Friday. Read more: Hyundai hit by first quarterly [...]
BBC weighs new European headquarters in Brussels January 25, 2019 The BBC is considering opening a new office in Brussels ahead of the UK leaving the EU, according to Belgium prime minister Charles Michel. Michel, who is attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, said he has held meetings with BBC director general Tony Hall to discuss the possible move. Read more: Brussels launches campaign to [...]