Marks and Spencer (LON:MKS) share price: Steve Rowe promises to “make M&S special again” as sales and profits slide while CFO Helen Weir steps down November 8, 2017 Marks and Spencer Group’s profits fell in the first half, as the retailer faced additional headwinds in its food business and continued the struggle to boost clothing sales. The group also confirmed reports that its chief financial officer, Helen Weir, will leave the company in due course. Shares in the company rose 3.5 per cent [...]
DEBATE: Is Boris Johnson’s gaffe about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Iran trip grounds for his removal? November 8, 2017 Is Boris Johnson’s gaffe about Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s Iran trip grounds for his removal? Tulip Siddiq, Labour MP for Hampstead and Kilburn, says YES. By repeating the lie being used to detain my constituent, the foreign secretary abrogated his responsibility to a British citizen facing a life or death situation. As our country’s most senior diplomat, [...]
Labour’s robot tax would hamper Britain’s growth: We need more robots, not fewer, claims new Centre for Policy Studies report November 8, 2017 Labour’s plans to impose a “robot tax” would impede productivity growth, depress wage growth and cause a brain drain from the country, a new report claims. Think tank the Centre for Policy Studies argues that a tax as mooted by Jeremy Corbyn at last month’s Labour conference would dissuade businesses from developing new technologies, but [...]
Millions of gig economy workers miss out on auto-enrolment and a workplace pension November 8, 2017 Millions of British gig economy workers are missing out on a workplace pension as auto-enrolment bypasses the sector, according to a study released today. Gig economy workers could boost the size of their pension pot by up to £75,000 if a form of auto-enrolment were extended to cover all workers, according to research by the [...]
Insurance premium tax: Insurers fire shot across Treasury’s bows, urging chancellor Philip Hammond against a further hike November 8, 2017 The UK’s biggest insurance body has called on chancellor Philip Hammond not to “punish” the British public by hiking insurance premium tax (IPT) for the fourth time in two years. The government has doubled IPT to a rate of 12 per cent in less than 18 months, with the most recent two percentage point rise [...]
Xavier Rolet under “confidentiality agreement” ahead of departure from London Stock Exchange claims activist investor November 7, 2017 Outgoing London Stock Exchange (LSE) boss Xavier Rolet is subject to a “confidentiality agreement” stopping him from discussing his departure, according to an activist investor. Sir Christopher Hohn, the lead manager of The Children’s Investment (TCI) fund, sent a letter today to LSE chairman Donald Brydon calling for the company to lift the non-disclosure deal, [...]
Snap shares plunge after slower than expected user growth and app redesign November 7, 2017 Shares in US tech firm Snap plunged by more than 16 per cent in after-hours trading after it reported slower user growth and said it plans to revamp its app. Daily active users of its disappearing messaging app, Snapchat, rose to 178m in the third quarter, up from 153m in the same period last year [...]
US financial sector “nervous” about hard Brexit, claims City of London Corporation November 7, 2017 The financial services sector in the US is becoming increasingly nervous about the chances of a hard Brexit, as they view the lack of progress from outside the talks with concern. City of London Corporation’s policy chief Catherine McGuinness was told the sector had moved beyond its initial “surprise” and “curiosity” at the events unfolding [...]
Debehams share price: Short sellers pile in to bet against Debenhams ahead of Christmas shopping season November 7, 2017 The City appears to be pessimistic about Debenhams’ prospects this Christmas, with the amount of short-selling of the retailer’s stock rising to its highest level for more than four years. According to data from the Financial Conduct Authority, the amount of stock borrowed by hedge funds to bet against Debenhams’ fortunes has ramped up in [...]
More people applied for Estonian e-residency than were born in the country in 2017 November 7, 2017 Estonia’s e-residency programme is one of the most innovative in the world, letting anyone apply to become a digital citizen of the eastern European country. And so attractive has it become that more people wanted to become a digital resident of the country than were born there this year. Read more: Estonia could be the [...]