There’s going to be another protest against Donald Trump in London this weekend February 1, 2017 As corporate resistance to US President Donald Trump's travel ban grows, Londoners are preparing to protest against it for the second time in a week. Trump has banned visitors from seven Middle Eastern countries, and tens of thousands of protestors are expected to protest outside the US embassy in London on Saturday, calling for Theresa [...]
TalkTalk chief executive Dido Harding hands over the reigns the firm’s largest shareholder February 1, 2017 Dido Harding has announced she is stepping down as TalkTalk chief executive after seven years in the role. She led the company through a massive cyber attack in 2014, which hammered the group's share price and prompted calls for her resignation. Harding has also been a vocal opponent of BT's continued ownership of the Openreach broadband network, [...]
TalkTalk insists it’s holding onto customers February 1, 2017 TalkTalk revenues have slipped over five per cent – but the firm claimed it had stemmed the number of customers leaving for rival operators. The figures Revenues for the third quarter to December fell to £435m compared with £459m over the same period last year. Profits were also down at £332m from £351m. Some 516,000 customers decided [...]
House price growth falls to 14-month low February 1, 2017 UK house annual price growth fell to 4.3 per cent in January, down from a year-on-year growth of 4.5 per cent in December. As compared to the month before, house price growth edged up 0.2 per cent, according to figures from Nationwide. But it is thought that overall this year the housing market will be cooler [...]
Rocketing Chinese M&A at risk from new rules and global protectionism February 1, 2017 Chinese mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity into North America grew by 412 per cent last year, according to figures out today. Outbound acquisitions overall were up 201 per cent in Europe, meanwhile, and globally 114 per cent to $208.6bn (£166bn) in value. Read more: China, Mexico, Japan: Who's afraid of Trump's protectionism? Law firm Clifford [...]
Good news: UK train ticket pricing is getting an overhaul February 1, 2017 It's been a tough few months for train travellers – but finally, there's some good news. The UK's ticket pricing system is getting a much-needed facelift to scrap overpriced routes and make it easier for passengers to buy the cheapest tickets. Some fares for longer, connecting train journeys will be removed because cheaper options exist. [...]
Spending on essentials soars as inflation starts to bite consumers February 1, 2017 Consumer spending on essentials has increased at its highest rate since September 2013 as inflation started to bite in December. Essential spending grew 1.8 per cent in December, rising for the fourth month in a row, according to Lloyds Bank. Grocery spending jumped 2.9 per cent year-on-year, the highest growth rate since July 2013. Read [...]
When it comes to public perception it pays not to short-change staff February 1, 2017 Towards the end of December, there was a row involving luxury department store Harrods. Waiting and kitchen staff took industrial action because they alleged that the business’s owners retained up to 75 per cent of service charge, which reduced pay by up to £5,000 a year. Harrods has subsequently vowed to let staff keep 100 [...]
Why Tesco could be better off leaving Booker on the shelf February 1, 2017 The stock market’s initial reaction to takeover deals can often be a poor indicator of how those deals work out. Just look at the market’s sceptical response to Sainsbury’s purchase of Argos owner Home Retail Group as a recent example. Now we have another unexpected deal in the supermarket sector with Tesco bidding to take [...]
Why the economics profession remains blind to the benefits of Brexit February 1, 2017 The office for National Statistics last week estimated that the UK economy grew at an annual rate of 2.4 per cent in the final quarter of last year. This is slightly above the long-term average growth of the past three decades. But a Financial Times survey this month showed that the majority of economists remain [...]