BT considers options after court defeat on pensions increases December 4, 2018 Judges today told BT it cannot change the way it calculates pensions increases for 80,000 current and past employees. The telecoms provider, which links increases to the retail prices index (RPI), was hoping for permission to start using a different measure. BT, which has one of the biggest pension schemes in the UK, argued that the [...]
Brexit mess makes Britain ‘hot heads’ of Europe, says City’s policy boss December 4, 2018 Britain’s mishandling of Brexit has made it the new “hot heads” of Europe and damaged its financial services industry, according the the City of London’s policy boss. Catherine McGuinness said the uncertainty surrounding Brexit has damaged the country’s reputation and will take time to rebuild. “We do travel the world quite extensively and I do [...]
UK foreign investment hits record high as investors shun Brexit fears December 4, 2018 Investment into the UK from foreign companies rose to the highest level ever recorded last year as investors shrug off Brexit worries. The value of the UK’s foreign direct investment (FDI) stocks in 2017 was £1,336.5bn, a rise of £149.2bn since 2016, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The total, [...]
Thames Water five-year, £1.4bn loan agreement gives incentives for going green December 4, 2018 Thames Water today announced it has signed a £1.4bn revolving credit facility which links interest rates to the company’s success in meeting its environmental responsibility targets for the next five years. In a move designed to rebuild public trust in the company after a series of scandals including a £20m fine last year for pumping [...]
Outsourcer Mitie to step electric vehicle operation up a gear with 717 new cars and vans to enter fleet by 2020 December 4, 2018 Outsourcer Mitie’s shares rose this morning on the announcement it is to introduce electric vehicles into its fleet of cars and vans. The facilities management and professional services company said one-fifth of its 3,587 so-called smaller vehicles would be electric by the end of 2020, a total of 717 vehicles. Mitie said it would install [...]
Rising client demand provides foundation for solid construction activity growth in November December 4, 2018 UK construction activity grew at the fastest rate in four months in November, driven by positivity in the house-building and commercial sectors, but Brexit uncertainty continued to hamper firms’ hopes for the future. The IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) rose to 53.4 last month, up on October’s reading of 53.2. The figure [...]
Ghosn faces fresh arrest as Nissan fails to find new chairman December 4, 2018 Former Nissan chairman Carlos Ghosn faces arrest on a fresh charge of understating his income in a move that could keep him in detention for the rest of the year. Tokyo prosecutors plan to issue a new warrant for Ghosn on suspicion of underreporting roughly ¥4bn (£27.7m) of his salary over the last three years, [...]
No-deal Brexit would be ‘disastrous’ for Toyota and could cost £10m a day, MPs hear December 4, 2018 Toyota has warned MPs that a no-deal Brexit would be “disastrous” to its car making operation in UK, and could cost the company around £10m a day. Tony Walker, deputy managing director of the company in Europe, said it was “unimaginable” that it would be able to change customs procedures to fit World Trade Organisation [...]
Why a river of dirty money flows through the United Kingdom December 4, 2018 Britain first passed a law allowing for the creation of limited-liability companies – described by the Economist in 1999 as “the key to industrial capitalism” – in the mid-19th century. They quickly exploded in popularity. Those arrangements are now under close scrutiny, after landing at the heart of the money-laundering scandal that has enveloped Danish [...]
Outsourcers’ woes continue as construction giant Kier Group braces for potential drop from FTSE 250 December 4, 2018 The beleaguered UK outsourcing industry could suffer another blow in coming days with construction giant Kier Group looking set to drop from the FTSE 250 index. Kier’s stock was down another eight per cent this morning as the spectre of Wednesday’s round of FTSE index relegations and promotions loomed. City A.M. understands Kier is one of several [...]