Revealed: Behind the scenes of Carillion’s annus horribilis December 21, 2017 Troubled construction giant Carillion hit the headlines again yesterday after it announced its interim chief executive Keith Cochrane will be replaced almost three months earlier than planned. When Andrew Davies, who was set to take over on 2 April 2018, starts on 22 January, he will become the company’s third chief executive in six months. [...]
As 2017 ends, what is the state of the British Labour Party? December 21, 2017 I’ve spoken in the past about my longtime membership of the Labour Party and my admiration for Tony Blair’s government. And just as often I have expressed disappointment with Labour’s current direction and with its current leadership, who have tried to force an unworkable brand of politics onto the party. Why am I still [...]
Emirates is launching London Stansted flights to Dubai for the first time – and they’ll feature private suites in First Class December 20, 2017 London Stansted has announced a significant step in its long-haul ambitions with the launch of a new daily Emirates service to Dubai starting next year. It marks the first time the airport has secured a route to one of the Middle Eastern hubs. Emirates will have 10 daily flights between Dubai and three London airports [...]
Innovating in zeros: How do disruptive businesses best the competition? December 20, 2017 | City Talk “No one really thought it was going to work but, actually, it went okay.” That is how Jonas Kjellberg, entrepreneur and investor, described the sentiment around one of his most famous ventures — Skype. Kjellberg has always been interested in disrupting traditional systems, and he recalled some of his business successes and failures at [...]
The Electoral Commission has fined the Lib Dems and the Remain campaign over spending December 19, 2017 The Liberal Democrats and the official Remain campaign group have been slapped with fines over how they recorded their spending during the EU referendum. The Lib Dems were handed an £18,000 fine over a failure to deliver a complete and accurate spending return. The Electoral Commission, which handed out the fines, said in some cases [...]
Ex-Barclays trader to pay almost £300,000 for Libor fixing December 19, 2017 A former Barclays trader who was jailed for his role in the rigging of the Libor bank rate must pay almost £300,000 in earnings deemed to be proceeds from the crime. Jay Merchant, who is currently serving five-and-a-half years in prison after being found guilty in July last year, must pay £275,890 in profits along [...]
Five UK banks given Open Banking deadline extension by CMA December 19, 2017 Five UK banks have been given more time by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to comply with Open Banking regulations. Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC, Santander and Bank of Ireland appealed to the CMA for a delay to the January deadline. Open Banking is a new digital standard that aims to give [...]
London Stock Exchange wins battle against activist investor Sir Chris Hohn December 19, 2017 The board of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Group has resoundingly beaten off an attempt by activist investor Sir Chris Hohn to remove its chairman, winning a shareholder vote held today after a bitter public row over the departure of ex-chief executive Xavier Rolet. Some 79 per cent of votes cast by LSE shareholders backed [...]
Why is Pakistan struggling to find its feet as a successful emerging market? December 18, 2017 | City Talk The key dilemmas facing Pakistan’s equity market — a small investor base, few new listings on the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX), and shrinking turnover — are tied to the lack of trust among investors and issuers as well as unnecessary compliance and tax burdens. It will take greater professionalism among the intermediaries and the rationalization [...]
Here’s what the bookies say about Prince Harry’s wedding December 15, 2017 Bad news for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle: after the happy couple revealed the date of their nuptials next year, bookies have tipped rain. Bookies at Betway put odds of 15/8 on it raining on 19 May, the day of the couple's wedding, while they put the chances of the wedding attracting more viewers than [...]