Boris Johnson launches £85m fund to lift London’s tech start-ups December 4, 2014 The Mayor of London has launched an investment fund which will make up to £85m available to the capital's most exciting science, technology and digital start-ups. Boris Johnson has pledged an initial £25m towards the London Co-Investment Fund, which will help new businesses looking for a cash injection between £250,000 and £1m. The fund, which hopes [...]
Stamp duty calculator: Don’t try it if you just bought a house- you don’t want to know how much you missed out on saving December 4, 2014 If you have just bought a house and are patting yourself on the back for getting in at the right time in an ever pricier market, the new stamp duty just rained on your parade. Do you enjoy seeing your hard earned cash disappear before your very eyes? No? Then don’t try out HMRC’s Stamp [...]
ECB cuts European growth forecasts December 4, 2014 The European Central Bank (ECB) has slashed its forecasts for European growth, saying it now expects GDP in the region to rise by just one per cent next year, down from 1.6 per cent. It also cut forecasts for this year to 0.8 per cent, from 0.9 per cent, while growth in 2016 will hit [...]
George Osborne slams BBC over “hyperbolic” coverage of Autumn Statement spending cuts December 4, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne is less than impressed with some of the broadcast coverge given to his last major set piece event yesterday in the form of the Autumn Statement. Osborne denounced coverage of spending cuts to be delivered in the next parliament as "totally hyperbolic". The comments came after he was challenged with figures from [...]
Former Lib Dem minister Jeremy Browne fires warning shot over Clegg’s Autumn Statement no-show December 4, 2014 While the Tories may have reason to be cheerful with headlines in today's business sections, with pictures of George Osborne at the dispatch box slashing one of Britain's most hated taxes splashed across the newspapers, there was one member of the government who was conspicuous by his absence on the day of the Autumn Statement. [...]
Bank of England keeps base rate at 0.5 per cent for 69 months in a row December 4, 2014 The Bank of England has voted to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent for the 69th month in a row. The last time the UK's base rate changed was March 2009. If you're trying to remember what was happening back then, that month RPI also reached zero for the first time [...]
Conservative MP Mark Pritchard arrested on suspicion of rape December 4, 2014 Conservative MP Mark Pritchard has been released on bail after being arrested on suspicion of rape. The Metropolitan Police confirmed today that a 48-year-old man had voluntarily attended a north London police station on Tuesday, where he was arrested, following an allegation of rape in central London. "He has been bailed to a date in [...]
James Bond 24: All you need to know about Spectre, plus we crunch the numbers on franchise’s profits December 4, 2014 James Bond mania is upon us. Today at Pinewood Studios in west London, Sony Entertainment, Eon and MGM revealed the details of what has until now been simply called James Bond 24. The new film is called Spectre, taking the title from Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, a fictional organisation that [...]
Aberdeen Asset Management chief executive Martin Gilbert cashes in December 4, 2014 Aberdeen Asset Management executive directors including chief executive Martin Gilbert and deputy chief executive Andrew Laing have cashed in on the company's highest share price in six months by selling off just over three million shares. Gilbert's sale of 1.3m shares at 461p netted him just over £6m, although he still holds £24m of shares. [...]
Unilever spins off Flora and Bertolli spreads into a separate business December 4, 2014 Unilever is spinning off its butter division into a separate standalone business as it dragged on the consumer giant’s growth. Its spread brands, including Flora and Bertolli, will form a new division by the middle of 2015 run by a separate management team following a separate strategy, Unilever’s head of finance Jean-Marc Huet told investors [...]