Euro drops as ECB lowers growth forecast and confirms end to €2.6tn stimulus despite growth concerns December 13, 2018 The European Central Bank has confirmed plans to bring its €2.6tn eurozone stimulus programme to an end later this month despite concerns over growth. The bank’s bond purchasing programme, which began in 2015, will wind down at the end of the year as planned, it said today. But the ECB said it would continue to [...]
BBC’s Eastenders set revamp goes £27m over budget December 13, 2018 The BBC’s project to rebuild and enlarge the Eastenders set will be £27m over budget and take an extra two-and-a-half years to complete. The cost estimate for the construction project has soared 45 per cent from £59.7m to £86.7m, the National Audit Office (NAO) said today. The expected completion date of the project, known as E20, [...]
Passengers ditch season tickets in favour of single journeys as disruption takes its toll December 13, 2018 Passengers are continuing to ditch season tickets, suggesting a loss of confidence caused by disruption on Britain’s railways. The number of season ticket journeys for the second quarter this year was 143m – the lowest level since the second quarter of 2010-11. By contrast, the number of journeys using one-time advance, anytime and off-peak tickets increased [...]
Supreme Court rules against Scottish replacement for Westminster Brexit bill December 13, 2018 The Supreme Court has decided parts of a Scottish law passed to take control over areas such as farming and fishing after Brexit are “outside of the legislative competence” of the Scottish parliament. Holyrood passed its own Brexit legislation in March after disagreeing with Westminster’s own Brexit bill. Most of the Holyrood bill was within [...]
Fires and explosions cause largest value losses for businesses and insurers globally December 13, 2018 Fires and explosion are the cause of the largest claims for insurers and the businesses they cover. Analysis of over 470,000 global insurance claims from 2013 to 2018 with a value of €58bn (£52bn) by insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty shows the largest financial losses come from fires and explosions. Over the past five [...]
Italy revises controversial budget plan and expects EU standoff to come to an end December 13, 2018 Italian bond yields continued to fall for a second day after government revised its controversial budget plan and expected the EU to be satisfied with the changes. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Rome had cut its deficit target for 2019 to 2.04 per cent of GDP from its original 2.4 per cent. Conte said he [...]
The UK is braced for heavy snow this weekend as London feels the chill December 13, 2018 The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for some parts of the UK this weekend, indicating heavy snowfall and freezing rain as the country gets ready for Christmas. For some a white Christmas could be coming early, as a low pressure weather system from the Atlantic is set to blast cold wind and snow [...]
Christmas strikes: Union votes for New Year’s Eve strike on London rail December 13, 2018 Commuters face renewed strike misery over Christmas, with new industrial action planned on New Year’s Eve on South Western Railway. The RMT union will also strike for the whole of Thursday 27 December on South Western Railway, accusing the train line of refusing to engage in “a serious talks process” to solve a long-running dispute [...]
Giving to a charity at Christmas is great, but we should think of helping others all year round December 13, 2018 It is nearly Christmas, and it is well known that the theme of the season is the giving of gifts and thinking of others. As a result, it is also a popular time of year for people to give to charity. In fact, data from the Charities Aid Foundation shows that November and December are [...]
Carrot or stick? For Aldi and Lidl, equal pay goes hand in hand with commercial success December 13, 2018 Kevin the Carrot, who once again features in Aldi’s Christmas advert, is proving a bigger hit with shoppers than even Elton John, star of the John Lewis ad. Soft-toy versions of the animated vegetable sold out at 4am on the day of release in some areas and have reportedly provoked fights among customers desperate to [...]