London house sales drop over political uncertainty, according to Rightmove data December 17, 2018 Londoners are hesitant to sell their homes due to political uncertainty, according to new research. The number of properties that were brought to market this month was down 19 per cent on the same period last year, leading to a smaller than usual December price drop of 1.8 per cent. Inner London home owners were [...]
UK banks taxed almost double the amount of the rest of the FTSE 100 December 17, 2018 UK banks pay nearly double the amount of tax compared to the rest of the FTSE 100, new data has revealed. The five biggest banks paid an effective tax rate – the rate at which a corporation’s profits are taxed – of 42 per cent last year, almost twice as much as the 23 per [...]
Early cost estimates for HS2 were wildly inaccurate says former insider December 17, 2018 A former insider at rail project HS2 has said that the early land and property cost estimate considered by MPs was “enormously wrong”. HS2’s chairman Sir Terry Morgan resigned from the project this month after cost overruns at another project he chaired, Crossrail. However, Morgan hinted that HS2 could face similar problems. Now former head [...]
Workers rights receive boost as government unveils new reforms package December 17, 2018 The government will today unveil a new package of workplace reforms in response to the Matthew Taylor review into working practices in the UK. Under the new legislative reforms, on their first day of a new job workers will receive a statement of rights for setting out their entitlements for annual leave and pay. The [...]
Will Tony Blair help or hinder the campaign for a second referendum? December 16, 2018 Of the four living former Prime Ministers, three are united in vocal and (to a varying degree) active opposition to current government policy. John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have taken very different approaches to life after Downing Street but what unites them now is support for a second referendum. Major has called for [...]
Christmas is giving us the gift of retail relationships December 16, 2018 This year’s flagship Christmas advert from John Lewis shows how the gift of a piano to Elton John as a child gave him a talent that he nurtured into an incredible career as a musician. The ad also raised an important question – what can marketers learn from the idea behind the slogan “a gift [...]
The unstoppable rise of podcasts: How an industry was reborn December 16, 2018 It seems nothing can stop the rise of podcasts. On-demand listening has become the sine qua non of the commuter; the lifeblood of dinner party conversation. Popular podcasters attract millions of listeners, and advertisers are starting to reap the rewards. And yet podcasts are not a new phenomenon. They predate Facebook, Youtube and Twitter, and [...]
TP Icap takes legal action over Nex Group deal December 16, 2018 Broker TP Icap is taking legal action against trading business Nex Group over claims that it broke the terms of a deal. TP Icap was formed in 2016 when Tullett Prebon took over Icap’s voice broking business. The rest of the company was renamed Nex Group. TP Icap has accused Nex of breaking a warranty [...]
Aston Martin remains in short sellers’ sights despite Soros cash-out, as stock continues to fall December 16, 2018 Aston Martin's struggling stock continues to be targeted by short sellers, with London-based Adelphi Capital raising its bet against the carmaker to £15m last week. The manufacturer behind James Bond’s vehicle of choice would have wished to slip under the radar of hedge funds after its shares crashed from an initial £19 in October to £11.49 [...]
Could the UK be on the brink of a US-style class action explosion? December 16, 2018 The Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Tesco, Google and Mastercard. These are just a handful of the household names that have been targeted in group action lawsuits in the UK with billions of pounds at stake. The UK, unlike the US or Australia, does not have a long history of class action-style lawsuits, [...]