The Brexit vote will scare workers into saving for retirement December 6, 2016 Britain's decision to leave the EU will boost pension savings as concerns over future financial uncertainty provide a catalyst for workers to put more money aside for their retirement. Nearly half of businesses polled by Close Brothers believe the Brexit vote will increase employee engagement in retirement planning and over one in four employers expect staff to increase their pension [...]
Digital challenger bank N26 has pulled back from its UK launch plans December 6, 2016 The German digital challenger bank N26 has pulled back on its plans to launch in the UK as it pushes forward with expansion elsewhere in Europe, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. The startup which is seeking to disrupt the established banks, and whose peers include the likes of Monzo, Tandem and Atom in the UK, announced its [...]
Theresa May bids to head off Tory rebellion by agreeing to publish some Brexit planning December 6, 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May has responded to the threat of a Brexit rebellion by agreeing to publish a plan on quitting the EU if MPs back her plan to trigger Article 50 before April. A Labour motion due for debate tomorrow had called for May to publish details of her plans on Brexit ahead of [...]
Chris Grayling’s rail shake-up: What will it actually mean for Network Rail? December 6, 2016 Chris Grayling wants to revamp how the nation's rail networks operate, but just what are his proposals and what will it mean for Network Rail? Deeper alliancing He wants each rail franchise to be run by joint management teams, including representatives from the train operating firm and Network Rail. These changes will commence when [...]
John Lewis sales bolstered by final Black Friday promotions December 6, 2016 John Lewis' sales over the past week received a boost from the final Black Friday promotions on offer. Sales for the week to 3 December increased 3.9 per cent year-on-year, the department store said, reaching £172.1m. Read more: Nespresso is teaming up with John Lewis to open two new boutiques Year-on-year, fashion and home sales [...]
OECD Pisa education report: Reading and science scores climb as maths struggles December 6, 2016 The UK is climbing the world rankings in both reading and science according to the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) international student assessments. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is undertaken once every three years and tests 15-year-olds' abilities in the core academic disciplines of reading, maths and science. It found the [...]
Wanted: A bold government housing strategy that delivers for the young rather than the old December 6, 2016 If Brexit wasn’t dominating British politics, then one other issue would be: the lack of housing. If you know someone under 30, living in London and able to afford their first home, then your friend belongs to the country’s richest percentile. For most people, even for those on what used to be a decent median income, owning [...]
Widening US trade deficit gives Donald Trump a challenge to fulfil campaign reduction promise December 6, 2016 Rising imports pushed up the US trade deficit by over $6bn in October and factory orders increased faster than expected, as domestic demand continues to stay strong in the world’s biggest economy before the arrival of Donald Trump in the White House. Trump has promised to reduce the trade deficit when he takes office, but [...]
Have yourself an analogue Christmas: Vinyl outsold digital downloads for the first time last week December 6, 2016 It's going to be a crackly, scratchy sort of Christmas this year, after new figures showed sales of vinyl outstripped those of downloaded music for the first time since the advent of digital downloads last week. The Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA) said £2.4m was spent on vinyl albums in week 48 of 2016, compared with £2.1m [...]
Donald Trump takes aim at Boeing for expensive Air Force One contract December 6, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump has called for Boeing’s contract to build Air Force One to be cancelled because it’s too costly. The Republican tweeted today that the contract costs were “out of control” at “more than $4bn”. Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, [...]