As the UK ambassador to the EU warns that a Brexit agreement could take a decade to reach, do we need a transitional deal? December 16, 2016 Iain Anderson, co-founder and executive chairman at Cicero Group, says Yes. When was the last time you jumped off a cliff? Never. Sounds like a very sound plan to me. As the UK looks to form new trading relationships with the EU and globally, it is vital that we don’t walk any economic plank. And [...]
Reckitt Benckiser’s Nurofen fine has been tripled by an Australian court after a consumer watchdog appealed December 16, 2016 An Australian court has tripled the fine imposed on Reckitt Benckiser over claims it misled customers over Nurofen to AU$6m (£3.5m). Shares in company behind Durex and Dettol were down 1.3 per cent in early trading. The British drug manufacturer was initially handed a $1.7m fine earlier this year, however, Australia's competition and consumer watchdog appealed [...]
Will it ever end? Southern rail services are axed for the third day this week as commuters vent fury at government December 16, 2016 All Southern rail services have been cancelled for the third day this week, after protests were held last night by fed-up commuters over the crisis. Members of the Aslef train drivers' union had met with the train company yesterday for a second day of talks at conciliation service Acas, but they ended without resolution. So today's [...]
Daily Mirror publisher’s shares soar despite 17 per cent decline in print advertising revenue December 16, 2016 Trinity Mirror, the publisher of the Mirror national newspapers and more than 150 regional titles, is expecting a 17 per cent drop in advertising revenue in the last quarter of this year. However, shares in the company jumped eight per cent on Friday morning after it reported a performance “marginally ahead of expectations”, with its [...]
Balfour Beatty sells streetlight project stakes to Equitix for £33m December 16, 2016 Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty is selling an 80 per cent stake in its street lights business for £33m. Funds managed by Equitix are buying the majority of Balfour's interests in five street lightling PFI projects. Balfour said the cash consideration of £33m would be retained within the group, and said the proceeds from the sale were [...]
A £17m paper trade: Johnston Press sells 13 East Anglia titles as part of debt reduction strategy December 16, 2016 The owner of the i newspaper has flogged 13 of its print titles in a "landmark" deal that will raise £17m. Johnston Press confirmed it will sell its East Anglia titles to Iliffe Media Limited having previously said it was in a late-stage discussions over the sale in November. Read more: Struggling newspaper group Johnston Press [...]
Editor’s notes: Forget about Murdoch, media dominance is now an online battle December 16, 2016 For a while this week it felt as if we’d slipped back five years, as Ed Miliband and Vince Cable dusted down their criticisms of Rupert Murdoch. 21st Century Fox’s bid for Sky saw the former Labour leader take to Twitter like a student protester. “Do we want Rupert Murdoch controlling even more of [the] [...]
Why the UK must reassess its tax treaties with developing economies December 16, 2016 Before becoming a Member of Parliament, I undertook 27 international assignments, mainly in the developing world – 16 of them were in Africa. Often my funding would be from some source of aid, whether from the charitable sector, a UN agency or a developed country’s aid programme. But as I became more and more interested in the [...]
London just got the first ever contactless payment beer pump December 16, 2016 It looks like bartenders are the latest workers to be threatened by robotic replacements. The world's first contactless, self-pouring beer pump prototype has been launched by Barclaycard. Set up in Henry's Cafe and Bar in Piccadilly, the first-of-its-kind contraption has been dubbed "Pay @ Pump", and it's designed to help pubs and bars reduce queuing times [...]
Tata leadership race must show open mind December 16, 2016 Trump, May, Modi: protectionism takes many forms, and has many masters (and mistresses). In India, a curious case of economic nationalism is quietly unfolding at the country’s most significant conglomerate. In one sense, that’s unsurprising – India’s track record of foreign ownership restrictions in industries like insurance, banking and technology, is a lengthy one. But at [...]