The GranTurismo MC is the last hurrah for Maserati’s ageing V8-engined coupe. Tim Pitt drives it June 12, 2018 When the Maserati GranTurismo was launched, Tony Blair was in 10 Downing Street, Jade Goody was in the Big Brother house and the iPhone remained a twinkle in Steve Jobs’ eye. Now, as this Italian stallion nears retirement age, Maserati has given it one last update to take on the ever-growing ranks of six-figure sports [...]
Yahoo hit by £250,000 fine from UK watchdog over Russian data breach June 12, 2018 Yahoo has been served a fine by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) for £250,000, after a Russian cyber attack in 2014 left the data of some 500m users at risk. The watchdog argued that the worldwide data breach left Yahoo in violation of the Data Protection Act 1998, with around 500,000 British account holders affected [...]
Oil buffer faces biggest squeeze in decades if crude output rise goes ahead June 12, 2018 Fears of a price hike in the oil industry loom large as a potential rise in crude output next week poses a threat to the global oil buffer. Industry experts worry that the demand for spare production capacity, which is the extra oil that states can sustain at short notice in the case of natural [...]
HS2 main civil works costs are £1bn over budget June 12, 2018 Costs for main civil works on the government’s controversial High Speed 2 (HS2) project are coming in £1bn over budget. HS2 currently has a target for construction costs of £6.6bn, while its overall budget for the project is £56bn. The New Civil Engineer has reported that interim costs submitted by contractors are currently above the [...]
Brexit: Youth justice minister Phillip Lee resigns over Brexit: I want to ‘look my children in the eye’ June 12, 2018 A government minister and ally of Theresa May has resigned over the UK’s Brexit policy, saying he wants to “look my children in the eye and honestly say that I did my best for them”. Phillip Lee, the youth justice minister, announced he was quitting this morning, claiming the current government policy was “detrimental to [...]
UK unemployment falls as number of people in work at record high as wage growth slows June 12, 2018 Unemployment fell by 38,000 between February and April with the employment rate at a record high, according to figures out today from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). But average earnings, excluding bonuses, rose by 2.8 per cent in the three months to April – a slight dip on the 2.9 per cent growth rate [...]
EU Withdrawal Bill: Theresa May secures fragile Brexit unity with customs union amendment and plea to Tory MPs June 12, 2018 Theresa May appears to have secured fragile agreement among her MPs to back her ahead of a series of critical votes through an 11th hour meeting and a new customs amendment. The last-minute amendment proposes the government seek a “customs arrangement as part of the framework for the future relationship” with the EU after Brexit. [...]
The focus on tech stocks is too narrow – it’s time to get creative June 12, 2018 Tech is a no brainer for investors. But a simple investment theme for the sector is being badly executed. Investors are too narrow in their focus, chasing Nasdaq and FANG (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix and Google) stocks, in a similar way to how they tend to play emerging markets. That is, in a simple fashion. Investor [...]
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) drops Scottish Widows from life insurance investigation and won’t be taking enforcement action June 12, 2018 The Financial Conduct Authority said this morning it has opted not to take any enforcement action against Scottish Widows as part of the watchdog’s investigation into the life insurance sector. In March 2016, the FCA announced investigations into six businesses to assess the fair treatment of long-standing customers and gauge just what customers were told [...]
Challenger bank Oaknorth loans a further £7.3m to Z Hotels for new London sites in Covent Garden, Holborn and Tottenham Court Road June 12, 2018 Challenger bank and fintech unicorn Oaknorth has provided £7.3m in a debt financing deal to compact luxury hotel brand Z Hotels, City A.M. can reveal. The hotelier says it has undergone rapid growth since launching in 2011, which now owns and operates eight hotels at sites across London, Glasgow and Liverpool. Today’s news is destined [...]