Boxing Day footfall set to tumble as Christmas spending levels off December 20, 2018 Footfall is set to plummet on Boxing Day as Christmas trading takes a hit from low consumer confidence and the rise of Black Friday sales. Boxing Day footfall will decline 5.2 per cent year, its largest drop in recent years, according to forecasts from retail data firm Springboard. Footfall on Boxing Day has declined in [...]
Chinese city leads global house price growth as Europe lags behind December 20, 2018 The Chinese city of Xi’an recorded the highest level of house price growth this year as Asia pulls ahead of a sluggish European market. House prices in Xi’an, which is the capital of Shaanxi Province in central China, grew 20 per cent in the year to September, according to Knight Frank’s Global Residential Cities Index. [...]
Travel chaos averted as rail union suspends Christmas strike action on Central and Bakerloo lines December 20, 2018 The rail union has suspended its planned action on the Central and Bakerloo lines that was set to wreak havoc over the Christmas period. The Central Line strike was due to take place from 9pm tomorrow and last until Saturday at midnight, when the the line would reopen for the night service. Drivers on the Waterloo [...]
Foreign Office slams China for cyber attack campaign December 20, 2018 The Foreign Office has accused China of conducting an “extensive” campaign of cyber attacks against the UK. The government today said a group known as APT 10 acted on behalf of the Chinese Ministry of State Security to carry out a “malicious” cyber campaign targeting intellectual property and commercial data in Europe, Asia and the [...]
Government edits no deal documents to remove the word ‘unlikely’ December 20, 2018 The Brexit department confirmed it had stepped up ‘no deal’ planning by updating government advice to remove the claim it is an “unlikely” outcome. A tranche of technical notices released by the government since the summer repeatedly claimed the chance of leaving the EU without an agreement was “unlikely”. However, following Tuesday’s cabinet meeting, where [...]
EU competition watchdog warns four banks over bond trading cartel December 20, 2018 The European Commission has warned four banks they may have breached EU competition rules, as the watchdog investigates an alleged bond trading cartel. Employees at the banks allegedly colluded in online chatrooms to distort competition in US dollar denominated bonds in the secondary market over a six year period. The investigation relates to conduct by individual [...]
Gatwick Airport in total shutdown as drones investigation hits Christmas travellers December 20, 2018 Passengers flying from Gatwick Airport have been told not to travel to the airport today, with all incoming and outgoing flights currently suspended. At least 20,000 passengers have already been affected, with hundreds of thousands of journeys likely to be disrupted in the coming days. Gatwick's operations chief Chris Woodroofe said those travelling home for Christmas will [...]
Outsourcer Kier Group’s lenders face underwriting headache after rights issue flounders December 20, 2018 Kier Group’s shares were down 6.49 per cent today after it admitted investors only bought 38 per cent of the new shares it had issued as part of a fundraising effort. The beleaguered outsourcer's banks will now be forced to fork out millions to buy shares in Kier, after some of its biggest investors opted [...]
Lloyd’s of London prepares for Brexit with new European team December 20, 2018 Lloyd’s of London has appointed a team to head up its Brussels hub as the insurance giant seeks to insure itself against Brexit. Sonja Rottiers takes over as chief executive of newly formed Lloyd’s Brussels. She will be joined on the board by new chairman Michel Flamée, a former board member of the National Bank of [...]
Vladimir Putin says UK and Russia must break ‘deadlock’ in sour relations December 20, 2018 Vladimir Putin has held his annual press conference in which he said Russia and Britain must get out of the "deadlock" in the sour relations. The Russian president said he was interested in restoring "full relations" with Britain, which has imposed sanctions on Russia over the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter [...]