Court orders ‘driving force’ behind RBS action group to hand over thousands of documents December 20, 2018 An action group company that was set up to sue the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) over its 2008 rights issue has been ordered to hand over approximately 19,000 documents relating to the litigation, a London court ruled on Wednesday. The RBoS Shareholders Action Group company (AGC) brought together RBS shareholders who successfully sued the [...]
Altria gets Juul for Yule as Marlboro maker bets big on vaping December 20, 2018 The maker of Marlboro cigarettes is bringing in yuletide with a $12.8bn (£10.1bn) deal for vape startup Juul. But the early Christmas present is more than a stocking filler Altria as it tries to tap into a rapidly growing market for e-cigarettes. The company’s 35 per cent stake is a major vote of confidence in [...]
SFO tells former Barclays trader convicted of Euribor rigging to pay £77,000 confiscation order December 20, 2018 A former Barclays trader who was found guilty of manipulating the Euribor interest rate benchmark has been ordered to pay more than £77,000 or have an extra three years added to his sentence. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which brought its case against Philippe Moryoussef in 2015, has ordered the former trader to pay a confiscation order [...]
Labour MP Ivan Lewis resigns from party over antisemitism concerns December 20, 2018 An MP has resigned from the Labour Party citing the party's failure to tackle antisemitism within its ranks. Ivan Lewis, who was suspended from the party a year ago over sexual harassment allegations, accused Corbyn of being unwilling to allow Jewish people the right of “self-determination in their own state.” The MP for Bury South [...]
Boots blames ‘weak’ retail conditions for fall in UK sales December 20, 2018 Boots has recorded a fall in sales in the first quarter as it becomes the latest UK retailer to be hit by tough high street conditions. The pharmacy and health chain's US owner, Walgreens Boots Alliance, said comparable pharmacy and retail sales fell 3.5 per cent and 2.6 per cent respectively. It said the company’s [...]
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 [...]