UK firms could face £2,600 in additional employment costs, warns Federation of Small Businesses February 6, 2017 UK small businesses could face £2,600 in additional employment costs, the Federation of Small Businesses has warned. The business lobby group called on UK chancellor Philip Hammond to use the upcoming budget to help small businesses tackle soaring employment costs. In its submission to Hammond ahead of the 8 March budget, the FSB has urged action [...]
Lloyds bankers’ bonuses overtake RBS’ this year February 5, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group’s bonus package will be more generous than RBS’ this year for the first time since the financial crash of 2008. RBS has set aside £340m for bonuses this year, according to Bloomberg, but Britain’s other bailed-out bank, Lloyds, is planning to share out £390m. Read more: The government has cut its stake [...]
Flopshop: Arcadia Group brand Topshop’s sales drop over Christmas February 5, 2017 Sir Philip Green’s fashion brand Topshop suffered a like-for-like sales drop of nearly 11 per cent over Christmas, the most important shopping period of the year. The Sunday Times has reported that sales across the Arcadia Group as a whole, which includes Dorothy Perkins, Wallis and Evans, fell by about 6.5 per cent. The poor [...]
BrightHouse in bid for favour with watchdog February 5, 2017 ELECTRICALS rent-to-own retailer BrightHouse has put forward reform plans to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in a bid to save its reputation with the watchdog. The FCA is scrutinising a business plan from BrightHouse and will be deciding whether the retailer should be allowed to continue lending. The retailer allows shoppers to pay for goods, [...]
AccorHotels to bag Travel Keys February 5, 2017 French hotel group AccorHotels, owner of Sofitel and Fairmont hotels, is in talks to bag up luxury travel company Travel Keys. Atlanta-based Travel Keys offers luxury holiday lets in over 100 destinations, including Mexico, Hawaii and the Caribbean. Read more: You won't believe the opulence of these new hotel suites The discussions come just less than [...]
A senior Eurosceptic is sounding the alarm over an Article 50 rebellion among Tory MPs this week February 5, 2017 A senior Tory Eurosceptic is raising concerns of a rebellion among MPs ahead of this week’s vote on Article 50 legislation. MPs will vote on a Bill granting the government power to begin divorce talks on Wednesday, but Brexiteer and Treasury committee member Steve Baker is worried that some Tories will back “wrecking” amendments. These could place more restrictions [...]
Everything that you need to know about this week’s housing white paper February 5, 2017 The government is set to reveal its long-awaited housing white paper this week after a series of delays. Q: Why do we need a housing white paper? A: There is a mismatch between supply and demand in the housing market which has caused prices to rise to levels that are unaffordable for many. Meanwhile, the [...]
Dodd-Frank reform could force UK to loosen financial services regulations February 5, 2017 The UK and the rest of Europe could come under pressure to loosen financial services regulations, analysts have said, after the President of the United States last week set in motion his plans to scale back rules across the pond. Donald Trump signed an executive order for the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulations to be reviewed on [...]
Economists following Bank of England’s lead raise UK growth forecasts February 5, 2017 City economists are raising their predictions for the UK economy’s growth in line with the Bank of England’s more positive outlook. In a survey conducted by Consensus Economics, the average forecast for 2017 growth rose to 1.4 per cent, The Sunday Times reported today. The positive outlook is up from a low of 0.6 per [...]
Bad line: Investors to sue BT over accounting slip-up that wiped billions off its market value February 5, 2017 BT could be hit by legal action from its shareholders following an accounting scandal that rocked the telecoms company last year. Law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan is mulling a potential lawsuit on behalf of institutional investors over the impact of the accounting scandal being worse than originally stated. The group announced writedowns of £145m in October [...]