Scottish Independence: Brown storms back into fray over Yes threat September 8, 2014 The battle to keep the United Kingdom together stepped up a notch last night as Gordon Brown dramatically returned to the fray. The ex-Prime Minister unveiled a detailed timetable for further devolution to Scotland, throwing a planned cross-party announcement later this week into disarray. It came as a late night poll from TNS put the [...]
Nervous investors quit Scots stocks on vote fears September 8, 2014 SCOTTISH shares led the UK markets down yesterday as investors responded to the real possibility Scotland could vote to leave the union in next week’s referendum. Sterling slumped again, as a TNS poll put the independence and unionist camps neck and neck. The FTSE100 slid 0.3 per cent yesterday. Scottish-based banks RBS and Lloyds led the slide, down 1.3 [...]
EU puts new Russia sanctions on hold in hope ceasefire survives September 8, 2014 EUROPEAN leaders last night announced they had agreed new economic sanctions against Russia – but will not put them into force for the time being. Russia threatened to hit back, potentially by closing its airspace to EU airlines’ flights. Brussels’ aim is to punish Russia for its increasingly overt invasion of regions in the east [...]
Nick Clegg rules out London air expansion plans September 8, 2014 LIBERAL Democrat leader Nick Clegg has ruled out airport expansion in London if his party is elected in 2015. Launching the party’s draft manifesto yesterday, Clegg vowed to oppose any expansion of Heathrow, Stansted or Gatwick, as well as a new airport in the Thames Estuary because of air and noise pollution. The party is [...]
Biggest bank IPO of the year, as RBS values US bank Citizens at up to $14bn September 8, 2014 RBS hopes to raise $3.5bn (£2.2bn) by selling the first chunk of its US retail bank Citizens, the bailed-out bank announced yesterday. It will be the biggest banking sale of the year, and reflects the renewed confidence markets have in newly-floated stocks. RBS is selling Citizens as part of its wider plan to cut back foreign [...]
Treasury calls on EU to stop red tape torrent September 8, 2014 Brussels must stop churning out countless financial regulations, and instead deal with the unintended consequences of the tide of red tape it has pumped out since the crash, a top Treasury official said yesterday. “We cannot allow this incredible pace and volume of standards reform to become the new normal,” said the Treasury’s financial services [...]
ITV ups the ante with call for Sky and Virgin to pay to broadcast its shows September 8, 2014 ITV chief executive Adam Crozier yesterday upped the ante on BSkyB and Virgin Media as he called for the government and its regulator Ofcom to force the pay TV firms to pay to broadcast ITV’s shows. Under the current model pay TV operators Sky, Virgin Media, BT and TalkTalk all broadcast the UK’s so-called Public [...]
Associated British Foods nears deal for first Primark warehouse in the US September 8, 2014 ASSOCIATED British Foods said yesterday its clothing giant Primark was close to striking a deal for a warehouse in the US to support its first foray in the country. Primark is set to open a 70,000 square foot store in Boston in 2015, and it is also in talks to open a further nine shops [...]
UKTV blames profit dip on new channel launch as revenues rise September 8, 2014 UKTV, the broadcaster behind the Dave television channel, saw its profits slide seven per cent last year following the costs of launching its eleventh channel. Drama, which launched in July 2013, showcases British drama with series including Sharpe and Sense and Sensibility. Meanwhile, UKTV’s share of the TV advertising market hit a record 9.1 per [...]
Manchester United’s share price gets a kicking in run up to results September 8, 2014 Manchester United’s embarrassing start to the football season appears to be weighing heavily on the club’s stock, with shares in New York tumbling by a further 4.5 per cent yesterday. The drop reflects an increasingly bearish sentiment among investors towards the club, which publishes its latest set of results tomorrow. Shares reached a peak of [...]