Business Committee launches inquiry into electric vehicles to assess concerns over stalling sales March 16, 2017 The role of electric vehicles as part of the government's industrial strategy will be investigated by the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Committee. The BEIS Committee has launched an inquiry today to scope out the barriers to the market's development and look into concerns that sales and take-up haven't been "as advanced as they [...]
Police in Paris at the scene of explosion at International Monetary Fund (IMF) building March 16, 2017 Police in Paris are at the scene of an explosion at the IMF headquarters. The Paris police department said on Twitter an operation was ongoing at the offices of the IMF and World Bank after a person was hurt following the apparent explosion of a suspect package. "An envelope exploded after it was opened and [...]
21st Century Fox £12bn takeover of Sky has been referred to regulators Ofcom and the CMA by culture secretary Karen Bradley March 16, 2017 The bid by Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox to take over Sky has been referred to regulators by the culture secretary. Karen Bradley confirmed her decision this morning after already announcing she was “minded” to do so. Broadcast regulator Ofcom will examine “public interest considerations” and the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) “jurisdiction issues”. Read more: Sky takeover [...]
More than 150,000 people have signed a petition to block a second Scottish independence vote March 16, 2017 MPs are to consider a debate on a second Scottish independence referendum after 150,000 people signed a petition calling for the vote to be stopped. All petitions gaining more than 100,000 signatures have to be considered for a debate, and parliament's petitions committee will on Tuesday afternoon decide whether to schedule a debate. Holding a debate [...]
Why are megacities on the rise and why should you care? March 16, 2017 | City Talk Hear that? That's the sound of mental cogs grinding; business owners poring over Google, deciding where to put a pin in the map to grow their operations. The decision is not always as blind as pinning a tail on the proverbial donkey. If you produce Champagne or coffee, for example, you have the sense and scents to know where to set-up [...]
Digital challenger Starling Bank is launching in beta March 16, 2017 A digital challenger bank founded by a former banker is a step closer to launch today. Starling bank's current account will now be available for anyone who wants to sign up to its beta testing programme. “Our vision at Starling is to give everyone in the world the opportunity to enjoy a healthy financial life. [...]
Four things to watch out for from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting March 16, 2017 The Bank of England is set to announce monetary policy at its latest meeting this afternoon. Investors don’t expect anything in the way of change, but as always economists will try to read the runes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) statement to see how the Bank’s economists think the UK economy is faring. Read [...]
Tories electoral commission fine: The official responses from the Conservative party and Ukip March 16, 2017 The Electoral Commission announced this morning that it has fined the Tories £70,000 over missing and unreported payments The sanction relates to the Conservative party's campaign spending ahead of the 2015 General Election. The commission opened an investigation last February, after the Kent Police decided not to pursue an investigation into allegations regarding the Conservative [...]
Sainsbury’s share price dips after it warns of “uncertain” inflation impact and “competitive” conditions as retail sales decline March 16, 2017 Sainsbury’s reported retail sales excluding fuel fell in the last quarter and said it faced an “uncertain” impact from rising costs and warned the market environment remains competitive. Shares in Sainsbury's dipped as markets opened to lows of 263p, but recovered some of their gains to a loss of around one per cent at the [...]
Toyota gives the UK a vote of confidence as it plugs £240m investment into its Burnaston plant with government support March 16, 2017 Toyota has signalled it is committed to manufacturing in Britain after announcing today it is plugging £240m into its UK operations in a bid to improve its Burnaston plant's competitiveness. The Japanese car firm said the investment into its plant near Derby will enable production of vehicles using its new global manufacturing system and promote UK [...]