Labour plans to move the Bank of England to Birmingham: Lord Adonis gives John McDonnell’s idea the thumbs-up December 11, 2017 Influential peer Lord Adonis has backed a suggestion from John McDonnell that the Bank of England move to Birmingham. The Bank of England has been based in London for more than 300 years. However, Labour’s shadow chancellor has concluded the bank’s current location is “unsatisfactory and leads to the regions being underweighted in policy decisions”. [...]
Investec has warned exposure to Poundland owner Steinhoff could hit profits December 11, 2017 Investec has warned its exposure to troubled South African retail giant Steinhoff could knock as much as three per cent off its profit. In a statement aimed at quelling fears from investors, the lender said its exposure to scandal-hit Steinhoff, whose shares collapsed last week after its chief executive resigned, represents a “small portion” of [...]
British Gas owner Centrica launches Spirit Energy with Bayerngas Norge | City A.M. December 11, 2017 Centrica has launched a new company as a jont venture with Norwegian energy firm Bayerngas Norge. Spirit Energy, an exploration and production (E&P) company, is the result of a combination of Centrica’s E&P business and Bayerngas. Former shareholders in Bayerngas now own 31 per cent of the newly formed company and Centrica owns the other [...]
As Jo Johnson proposes two-year degrees, it’s right that students should be treated like consumers December 11, 2017 A comedian once remarked that Jo Johnson, the universities minister, looked as if a wizard had waved his wand over Boris Johnson with the incantation “be slightly more attractive”. This may be unkind to the Johnson brothers, but the younger (Jo) is certainly emerging as the rather more interesting of the two. Boris is better [...]
City job vacancies grow as employers try to tempt wary workers to new jobs with higher salaries December 11, 2017 The number of available jobs in the City rose last month as firms in the Square Mile continue to offer higher salaries to try to tempt wary workers to move jobs. Vacancies for City jobs rose by five per cent during November, according to data from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley. The November bump comes after [...]
DEBATE: Should toy advertising avoid gender stereotypes this Christmas? December 11, 2017 Should toy advertising avoid gender stereotypes this Christmas? Christi Tronetti, marketing director at creative transformation agency isobel, says YES. “Sparkle”, “magic”, “glitter”, “princess” and “beautiful” are still some of the most common words in girls’ advertising. For boys, the list includes “adventure”, “battle”, “power” and “awesome”. The way the ad industry communicates with children is [...]
UK pledges £18m towards World Trade Organization schemes to help world’s poorest countries through trade December 11, 2017 The international trade secretary will today announce £18m worth of financing to help 51 of the world’s poorest countries “trade their way out of poverty”, as part of a post-Brexit vision for inclusive global trade. The Department for International Development funding will help countries to “produce products fit for export, trade more easily across borders [...]
The UK ranks top of all major developed economies for establishing new businesses December 11, 2017 The UK outranked all other major developed economies in terms of the number of businesses established last year, according to figures from accounting group UHY Hacker Young. It became home to 218,000 more businesses in 2016, a rise of six per cent over year-on-year. Meanwhile, other major developed economies including France, Germany, Italy, Japan and [...]
London Stock Exchange bounces back to top Europe’s IPO charts December 11, 2017 The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is set to end the year atop the European podium for company floats, bouncing back from a weak 2016 at a crucial time for the exchange. Proceeds from initial public offerings (IPOs) on the London market have been 75 per cent higher than 2016, according to data from accountants PwC. [...]
Christmas shopping: UK high street benefits from rise in customer numbers at start of Christmas shopping season December 11, 2017 The UK high street benefited from a slight rise in footfall last month as retailers started selling their Christmas ranges. Footfall rose by 0.2 per cent in November, according to data from Springboard. This was a significant improvement on last year, when footfall fell by one per cent year-on-year. Read more: Bright spot for BrightHouse? [...]