France takes tentative steps towards Sunday shopping December 14, 2014 A SENIOR French official yesterday said the government was committed to pushing through reforms to modernise the economy, despite protests. “These are reforms that have long been deemed necessary in France, but that had so far not been implemented,” Cyril Blondel, spokesman for the French Embassy in London told City A.M. France is often criticised [...]
Banks promise to help 1m who lack an account with new offering to include debit cards and online access December 14, 2014 Britain's biggest nine bank account providers today promised to give better access to adults who did not have a current account. Roughly 1.3m Britons are unbanked for a range of reasons, including lacking a steady income. However, lacking an account makes it harder to receive a regular income, or to pay vital bills. [...]
Opec ready for oil price fall to $40 a barrel: UAE December 14, 2014 Oil prices could fall as low as $40 a barrel and the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will still refuse to cut production, according to United Arab Emirates’ energy minister Suhail Al-Mazrouei. Speaking at the Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) in Dubai, Al-Mazrouei told Bloomberg: “We are not going to change our minds [...]
Nats Swanwick system failure: Air traffic chaos caused by too little investment, says Cable December 14, 2014 Business secretary Vince Cable has accused the UK’s National Air Traffic Service (Nats) of “skimping on large-scale investment” after an IT glitch led to widespread disruption across UK airports. The Lib Dem politician told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “In agencies like Nats, as in the banks in the private sector, they’ve been skimping on large-scale [...]
Britain’s only reindeer herd prepares for Christmas December 14, 2014 THEY ARE a sight that children dream of seeing, with a sleigh in tow, on Christmas Eve. But Britain’s only reindeer herd can usually be found in The Cairngorms National Park, Scotland, where Danny Alexander was once press officer. The herd, now numbering 130, was introduced in 1952 by Swedish Sami reindeer herder, Mikel Utsi.
Boris Johnson risks US fine or jail over failure to pay American capital gains tax on London property December 14, 2014 Boris Johnson risks a hefty fine or even a spell in jail if he fails to pay American capital gains tax on a London property he sold in 2009, a leading US tax specialist has told City A.M.. Johnson, who was born in New York and holds an American passport, revealed last month he was [...]
David Cameron launches 20 per cent discount scheme for new homes December 14, 2014 David Cameron will today launch a starter home scheme for first-time buyers, offering a 20 per cent discount on newly-built properties. The policy, announced by the Prime Minister at the Conservative party conference earlier this year, was set to be a manifesto pledge, but is instead being unveiled six months earlier than planned. Buyers under [...]
BT set to unveil result of mobile takeover talks December 14, 2014 BT IS expected today to reveal the outcome of takeover talks with O2 and EE, as it looks to buy one of the mobile groups for around £10bn. A deal, which would be funded by a mixture of BT stock and cash, is part of the firm’s strategy to move into so-called quad play by [...]
Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy: “I consult no one on the issues that are devolved in Scotland” December 14, 2014 Scottish Labour leader Jim Murphy drew a clear dividing line between his party leadership in London and north of the border yesterday, claiming that he would not run policies by Ed Miliband first. Talking about devolved issues in Scotland, Murphy said that any policy affecting Scots would be decided north of the border by Scottish [...]
Labour will make it illegal to undercut UK workers’ wages by paying foreign workers less December 14, 2014 Labour will today announce plans to make it illegal for employers to pay foreign workers less than their UK counterparts. Ed Miliband is set to crack down on companies that undercut British staff by taking on cheaper labour from abroad. It is the latest in a string of speeches from the Labour leader as he [...]