Durex owner Reckitt Benckiser is in talks to buy baby formula maker Mead Johnson for $16.7bn February 2, 2017 Reckitt Benckiser (RB), the company behind such household names as Durex, Cillit Bang and Nurofen, is in talks to buy a baby formula manufacturer for $16.7bn (£13.2bn). In a statement this morning, RB said it was in advanced talks with Mead Johnson to buy its shares at $90 each, valuing it at $16.7bn. The company [...]
Oculus rift: Facebook loses £394m virtual reality battle February 2, 2017 Tech giant Facebook has lost a $500m (£394m) court battle over the virtual reality technology behind it Oculus Rift headset. After a three week trial, the jury decided that Oculus – acquired by Facebook three years ago – was manufactured using computer code written by game developer Zenimax. Oculus said it would appeal against the "disappointing" decision. Damages [...]
The City’s importance to Europe helps Prime Minister Theresa May and the Brexit negotiations February 2, 2017 Listen carefully, and you can hear plenty of sensible European voices contributing to the great Brexit debate. Germany’s European affairs minister, Michael Roth, said recently that “Britain’s size, significance and its long membership of the EU” means there “will probably be a special status” for the UK post-Brexit. At the time, he was dismissed as [...]
Stop expecting central bankers to grow the economy: They can’t February 2, 2017 In 2008, monetary authorities around the world embarked on an unprecedented series of experiments. As economies tanked and governments throttled back on fiscal measures in the face of huge debts and deficits, people looked to central bankers to use monetary policy to stimulate economic growth. Since then we have seen a range of once outlandish tools [...]
Britain can lead the world in free trade – by keeping trade deals simple February 2, 2017 In some ways, the Brexit referendum settled a long-running question. However, it has also raised more profound issues that this government now needs to address. These include the question of whether we should adopt a policy of openness, free trade and liberalisation of regulation at home. And then, should we take the lead in promoting such [...]
As scandal hits the frontrunner for the French presidency Francois Fillon, is this good news for Marine Le Pen? February 2, 2017 Dylan Kissane, a France-based writer and director at The CoSMo Company, says Yes. After five years of mismanagement by Francois Hollande’s Socialist left, the electorate in France is primed for change. Until recently, Francois Fillon seemed to be the natural choice: a known quantity on the centre-right, a devout Catholic, and the man endorsed by [...]
The UK’s SME manufacturers have seen new orders grow as price pressures rise February 2, 2017 Domestic orders grew at the fastest pace in two years to give the UK’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) a welcome boost ahead of Brexit, according to a new survey. Almost a third of SMEs say domestic demand has increased, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). The outlook for the [...]
Nimbyism in decline as housing shortage bites February 2, 2017 The construction of new homes is now a top five priority for voters, with increasing numbers of people willing to support housing projects in their local area. A report by the Centre for Policy Studies, a think tank, suggests attitudes to new builds have changed dramatically over the last ten years. Citing a British Social [...]
Third runway set for take off: Government unveils Heathrow expansion national policy statement today February 2, 2017 Transport secretary Chris Grayling will today set out the government’s proposals for Heathrow expansion with a draft national policy statement. It comes after the High Court delayed a legal challenge to the third runway earlier this week. This marks the start of a 16-week national public consultation for the huge infrastructure project, giving people across the UK [...]
This is the type of fraud you should be worried about the most, but there’s another one on the rise February 2, 2017 Identity fraud has taken the questionable crown of the worst type of fraud in the UK today. The list, published today and compiled by Centre for Counter Fraud Studies at University of Portsmouth and Privilege Home Insurance, ranks fraud affecting individuals based on; the percentage of people subject to an attack, the average value of losses, the [...]