A land levy would be far fairer than our punitive business rates September 6, 2018 We have by now all heard about the crisis facing our high streets, and the burden of business rates in particular. But while high-profile retail struggles like that of House of Fraser and Maplin have brought this issue into the headlines, the problems with this badly designed tax run far deeper. Contrary to what any economist [...]
Ofgem is set to cap energy bills September 6, 2018 Households stand to save up to £120 a year following the introduction of a proposed cap on energy bills. Energy regulator Ofgem plans to cap tariffs at £1,136, saving 11m households around £75, and £120 for those on the most expensive gas and electricity deals. Read more: Eurozone producer price inflation spikes due to [...]
Accenture, Novartis and Diageo are among companies leading a new diversity index September 6, 2018 Consultancy firm Accenture, Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis and drinks giant Diageo are among the top global companies for diversity and inclusion, according to a report released today. The index from Thomson Reuters ranks the top 100 most diverse and inclusive publicly listed companies globally. Accenture topped the list, followed by Novartis, medical device company Medtronic, [...]
British music exports hit a £408m millennium-high note September 6, 2018 Sales of British music abroad have hit their highest rate since 2000 in the last year, totalling a boon of more than £408m for the UK music industry. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) will reveal later today that overseas revenue for UK music stars rose 12 per cent on the previous year, powered by demand [...]
Save high street with business rates freeze says lobby group September 6, 2018 A freeze on business rates should be the central plank of government efforts to help the struggling British high street, a small business lobby group will say today. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) will today call for no increase in rates in April 2019, the deadline for the next inflation-linked increase in business rates, [...]
‘No place’ for illegal Russian activity in City vows minister after Skripal attackers are revealed September 6, 2018 THE CITY minister and MP for Salisbury, John Glen, vowed last night to ramp up efforts against Russian dirty money channeled through the UK’s financial system. Glen’s pledge came after Prime Minister Theresa May said that the attempted murder of former spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in March this year was carried out [...]
Directional Aviation acquires PrivateFly in booking platform expansion September 5, 2018 PrivateFly was acquired today by Directional Aviation to form one of the world’s largest online booking platforms for private jet travel. In a deal which is likely to reshape the consolidation of the digital on-demand private airplane market, Hertfordshire-based Private Fly will be taken over after 11 years after it was first launched. Onesky, the [...]
Facebook and Twitter grilled under the Senate spotlight over social media abuse September 5, 2018 Silicon Valley heavyweights Facebook and Twitter faced a grilling from US senators in an Intelligence Committee hearing earlier today, pushing tech stocks down on Wall Street. Twitter's share price tanked more than five per cent, while Facebook's dropped 2.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Netflix and Snapchat shares both fell by more than four per cent. In [...]
Lloyds axes 380 jobs but adds more amid digital strategy shake-up September 5, 2018 LLOYDS Banking Group is axing nearly 400 jobs as part of a company-wide shake-up to bolster its online and mobile services performance, it emerged last night. Roughly 435 new roles will also be created in the efforts to compete in an increasingly digital market. A Lloyds spokesperson said that the new roles will be created [...]
Toyota recalls more than 1m cars over fire risk September 5, 2018 Japanese carmaker Toyota said today it was recalling more than 1m cars globally because of an electrical fault that could lead to fires. In the UK 32,393 cars are affected, consisting of Prius, Prius Plug-in and C-HR Hybrid models manufactured between October 2015 and May 2018. Read more: Toyota invests $500m in Uber to propel [...]