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 [...]
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 [...]