What the experts think the Pimlico Plumbers ruling means for the gig economy February 10, 2017 The Court of Appeals ruled against Pimlico Plumbers in a case concerning employment status today. The court ruled that Gary Smith, previously a plumber with the company, was a "worker", and as such should have been afforded basic workers' rights, such as sick pay. This is how legal experts reacted to the court's decision: Continuing the trend [...]
Pay-to-use motorway fails to secure bidders February 10, 2017 A £1.9bn deal to sell M6 Toll road has fallen through, prompting lenders to consider refinancing Britain’s only pay-to-use motorway. Plans to sell the motorway were announced in February last year and were already delayed as a result of the summer’s EU referendum vote. The sale is now not expected to take place, according to [...]
Don’t be boring this Valentine’s day: Here are six things to do instead of going out for dinner February 10, 2017 There are heart stickers plastered on every shop window, and you can’t seem get away from all the his’n’hers gift guides. It can only mean one thing – Valentine's day is on its way. By now the most romantic (and poshest) restaurants are booked up – but dinner is boring anyway, right? For a creative way [...]
ScottishPower is hiking energy prices while British Gas says it will extend its price freeze February 10, 2017 Another Big Six energy provider is raising its prices – this time its ScottishPower. The utility firm said more than a million customers will be affected by the rises. Dual fuel prices will increase by an average of 7.8 per cent, electricity prices will jump 10.8 per cent and gas prices will raise 4.7 per cent. ScottishPower blamed [...]
Major natural catastrophe losses totalled $39.5bn in 2016 February 10, 2017 Losses from natural catastrophes reached a four-year high last year, driven by an earthquake in Japan and a wildfire in Canada. Insured losses arising out of natural catastrophes hit $39.5bn (£31.6bn) last year, which is the highest they've been since 2012, according to Willis Re. The largest single insured loss in 2016 came from the [...]
Pimlico Plumbers loses appeal in employment status case February 10, 2017 Pimlico Plumbers has lost its court appeal over the employment status of one of its workers. The case was brought after a ruling in favour of one of the company's "self-employed" plumbers, Gary Smith. Smith had worked as a "self-employed" plumber for the Charlie Mullins-owned company for six years and in 2010, after suffering a heart attack, [...]
Rio Tinto has appointed the former boss of Centrica and Shell’s financial head to its board February 10, 2017 Rio Tinto today announced a series of major board appointments – including the former boss of Centrica Sam Laidlaw. Laidlaw will join the global miner's board as a non-executive director with immediate effect along with former Sasol chief executive David Constable. Shell's chief financial officer Simon Henry will join the board from July. Two Rio non-executive directors, Robert Brown [...]
This influential banker says the Trump bump has only just begun February 10, 2017 Bankim Chadha, Deutsche Bank’s global chief strategist is bullish about the prospect of further growth in equities this year. Writing in a note, Chadha said the S&P 500 index could rise to a record of 2,600 points by the end of the year. The US index closed at a record of 2,307.87 points last week. He [...]
Oil prices surge as data shows record compliance to Opec cuts are curbing crude production February 10, 2017 Production cuts by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and non-Opec producers in January achieved a record compliance rate of 90 per cent, the International Energy Agency today said. As the news came out that oil supplies fell by around 1.5m barrels per day (bpd) last month, benchmark Brent crude prices surged up 1.15 per [...]
Pound rises as industrial production climbs to six-year high February 10, 2017 The pound climbed back above $1.25 in morning trading, after official figures showed industrial production in the UK reached a six-year high in December. The Office for National Statistics' index of industrial production rose to 106.03 in December, its highest since January 2011, when it hit 106.16. The figures showed total production rose 1.1 per [...]