April tax changes 2018: How will they affect me and will I be better or worse? Sugar tax comes in and personal allowance rises April 6, 2018 With spring – sort of – in the air, a shake-up in the tax system is also on the cards with the new tax year starting today. From the much-discussed sugar tax to the ongoing fuel duty freeze, here’s a roundup of what’s changing – and what has proved controversial. Read more: Sugar tax a [...]
China will fight US “at any cost” after President Donald Trump mulls $100bn in extra tariffs April 6, 2018 President Donald Trump has upped the ante in the back and forth with China, saying he was now mulling an additional $100bn (£71.3bn) of tariffs “in light of China’s unfair retaliation”. In response, China’s commerce ministry said it will battle the US “at any cost”, and that if Washington continued down the path of what [...]
Back to school: We must teach AI to have a moral compass April 6, 2018 In the UK, it’s mandated that 13 of the first 18 years of a young person’s life are spent in some sort of education. We invest very heavily in teaching children what they need to know to be functioning and productive members of society: our doctors, our teachers, our data scientists of the future. Artificial [...]
Multiple snow storms cripple high street retail sales in March April 6, 2018 The UK high street was hit with the second worst like-for-like sales on record in March as the bad weather kept shoppers indoors. Year-on-year sales dropped by 10.1 per cent for the month, according to figures released today by accountancy firm BDO. Read more: Hammerson treads water on Intu takeover as it awaits Klepierre’s next [...]
Business groups slam apprenticeship levy as firms fail to withdraw funds one year on April 6, 2018 One year on from the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, business groups are calling for urgent reform of the controversial policy as firms leave more than £1bn of funding untouched. Data published by the Open University today shows that businesses have paid £1.39bn into new National Apprenticeship Service accounts, yet have withdrawn just £108m. Businesses [...]
Arsenal 4, CSKA Moscow 1: Aaron Ramsey and Alexandre Lacazette send Gunners to brink of Europa League semi-finals April 5, 2018 Arsenal 4, CSKA Moscow 1 Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger hailed the quality of Aaron Ramsey’s finishing after the midfielder’s goals swept his team to the brink of the Europa League last four. Ramsey and striker Alexandre Lacazette scored two each in a first-half dismantling of CSKA Moscow that Wenger called “spectacular” and affords the Gunners [...]
Culture secretary Matt Hancock demands answers from Facebook executives April 5, 2018 Culture secretary Matt Hancock has called in senior executives from Facebook for a meeting next week, demanding answers over the misuse of personal data. Hancock, who is currently leading the government’s work to strengthen UK data laws through the Data Protection Bill making its way through parliament, will grill managers during a meeting on 11 [...]
Manchester City: How Pep Guardiola’s side compare against Fergie’s Manchester United Fledglings, Wenger’s Arsenal Invincibles, Mourinho’s Chelsea April 5, 2018 Manchester City’s Champions League hopes may have been severely dented by a heavy loss at Liverpool this week but with attention returning to the Premier League, they need not have such worries. City host fierce local rivals Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, when a win would see them clinch the Premier League [...]
Up to 1,500 businesses missed the deadline on gender pay gap reporting April 5, 2018 Some 1,500 businesses missed yesterday’s deadline to report their figures on the gender pay gap, the law and equalities commission has said. The commission, which enforces the reporting, said it would start sending out letters to the businesses in question on Monday, in which it will give them 28 days to explain why they had [...]
Centrica boss Iain Conn’s pay more than halves to £1.7m after “disappointing” 2017 April 5, 2018 The boss of British Gas owner Centrica saw his pay package slashed by nearly 60 per cent last year after he was forced to apologise to shareholders when the company’s annual profits plunged by almost a fifth. Iain Conn took home a total of £1.7m in 2017, down from a remuneration package of £4.0m in [...]