From Northern Rock to lunch tables, no one is immune from the herd mentality December 5, 2018 The Bank of England and Federal Reserve held a two-day conference last week in London on big data and machine learning. All very interesting stuff. There was an intriguing vignette as we emerged from the conference room for the frugal lunch on the first day. Straight ahead was a table with sandwiches, fruit and the like. [...]
Let’s look beyond Brexit to a world of British opportunities December 5, 2018 Today, we assume our positions leading Britain’s £40bn maritime sector and count ourselves among its 1,000,000 employees. Britain is an island, a maritime nation, and our sector fuels trade with the rest of the world – some 95 per cent of imports and exports, worth over £500bn. For almost three years, national debate has been [...]
Fixing the rail system means putting passengers first December 5, 2018 The headlines yesterday that Govia Thameslink Rail (GTR) must spend £15m on passenger improvements to hold onto its franchise will be welcome if overdue news for the droves of commuters whose lives were made hell during the timetable chaos earlier this year. The Department for Transport labelled GTR’s performance “unacceptable”, and has not only decreed [...]
Broker Numis takes 17 per cent profit hit after boosting headcount December 5, 2018 Broker Numis has today announced profit before tax for the year ended 30 September dropped 17 per cent to £38.3m. Numis said an investment in staff that led to a 16.2 per cent increase in headcount as well as increased technology cost and costs incurred applying with the new Mifid II regulations had dented profits, [...]
Patisserie Valerie appoints interim CFO as it seeks to steady the ship after accounting scandal December 5, 2018 Embattled cake shop Patisserie Valerie has appointed an interim CFO after its last one was suspended before quitting amid an accounting scandal surrounding a £40m black hole. Nick Perrin will serve in the role until the bakers can find a permanent successor to Chris Marsh, who resigned following investigations into possible fraud at the company. [...]
Trade body says hardcore of ‘repeat offenders’ are failing to listen to investor views December 4, 2018 The trade body for UK investment managers has written to 32 companies on the Ftse-all share to register concern after they faced significant shareholder dissent for the last two years. The Investment Association (IA) said it was concerned that these companies had appeared on the public register, which tracks significant shareholder dissent, for the same [...]
Theresa May suffers historic defeat as Parliament takes back control of Brexit December 4, 2018 Theresa May suffered a humiliating series of blows on Tuesday as the government was found in contempt of Parliament for the first time in history and MPs backed a rebel amendment to her key Brexit legislation. During a day of high political drama the pound fell at one point to its lowest level against the dollar [...]
Nigel Farage quits Ukip over anti-Muslim policies and link with Tommy Robinson December 4, 2018 Nigel Farage has dramatically quit Ukip in protest at the party’s anti-Muslim policies under leader Gerard Batten. The former Ukip leader slammed the appointment of far-right activist Tommy Robinson as an adviser and the party’s “fixation” with Islam. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Farage said he was leaving Ukip “with a heavy heart” due to [...]
Thomas Cook drops up to 60 per cent in nightmare week December 4, 2018 The Thomas Cook roller coaster continued its bumpy ride today as stocks plummeted in an early morning sell-off, dropping as much as 60 per cent below last Monday’s price. The stock fluctuated from highs of 22.64p to lows of 19.89p, falling 16 per cent before rallying to close 4 per cent down. Meanwhile, the cost of insuring debt [...]
Royal Mail, Kier Group and Thomas Cook set to lose out in tomorrow’s FTSE reshuffle, as insurer Hiscox looks set to join the big league December 4, 2018 Royal Mail will need a miracle to avoid relegation from the FTSE 100 Index tomorrow, as insurer Hiscox looks ready to step into its place as a blue chip firm. The winners and losers of the last FTSE reshuffle of the year are to be announced tomorrow afternoon, with Thomas Cook, Kier Group and the [...]