Global progress on gender equality ‘far too slow’ says the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report October 4, 2017 Rich countries are still making slow progress when it comes to reducing gaps in income between men and women over the past five years, according to a report out today from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Since the last report carried out in 2012, many of the OECD’s 35 countries have prioritised [...]
Ford switches away from traditional cars to focus on SUVs and trucks and charging up its electric prowess October 4, 2017 Ford has set out its plans to move away from traditional cars as it looks to position itself for the future under its new chief executive. Jim Hackett, who was appointed head of Ford in May after previously leading the car firm’s autonomous driving division, outlined his plans to improve Ford’s “operational fitness, refocus capital [...]
Tesco share price rises as it resumes dividend as profits rise to £562m in first half October 4, 2017 Tesco has resumed its dividend for the first time in three years today, after reporting a 667 per cent increase in pre-tax profit in the first six months of the year. Read more: This is how City analysts are reacting to Tesco’s did announcement The figures Profit before tax rose to £562m from £71m this [...]
Bearing the load: Almost half of the UK’s top fund managers will absorb the cost of investment research post-Mifid October 4, 2017 A large chunk of the UK’s top asset managers have agreed to bear the cost of investment research themselves, rather than passing it on to clients from next year, according to consultancy Alpha FMC. The upcoming new European Mifid II rules, designed to increase transparency in how fund managers are spending investors’ money, mean firms [...]
Google’s DeepMind tripled its multimillion pound spending on artificial intelligence tech talent in London October 3, 2017 DeepMind, the UK’s star artificial intelligence company owned by Google, has tripled the amount of money it spends on top talent. Spending on administration largely driven by its wage bill jumped to £164m in 2016, up from £54m a year earlier, according to its newly published annual accounts, as it splashed the cash on attracting [...]
Uber talks with Transport for London over licence called “constructive “ October 3, 2017 London’s transport regulator has hailed talks with Uber over its licence to operate in the capital as “constructive”. Transport for London’s top boss Mike Brown today met with the top boss of the ride-hailing startup Dara Khosrowshahi who flew in from San Francisco for crunch talks. Further meetings are expected to take place, though are [...]
No-el delivery: Christmas shutdown on the cards as union votes in favour of Royal Mail strikes October 3, 2017 A key hurdle preventing a Christmas shutdown of Britain’s postal service was today removed as Royal Mail’s main union backed industrial action. The Communication Workers Union (CWU), which represents 110,000 postal staff, today voted in favour of strike action with 89.1 per cent approval for the motion. Some 73.7 per cent of the membership voted [...]
Ashish Thakkar to leave the board of Atlas Mara, the African banking group he co-founded with Bob Diamond October 3, 2017 Former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond is to be left as the sole founder on the board of African financial services group Atlas Mara, as it was announced today that co-founder Ashish Thakkar would be leaving. His departure from the board comes as a result of new shareholder Fairfax Africa, a Canada-based investment fund, wanting [...]
Paper train tickets will be a thing of the past by the end of 2018 as UK rolls out £80m Oyster-style smart card plans October 3, 2017 The orange train ticket familiar to anyone who travels by rail across the UK will be a thing of the past by the end of next year. Ambitious plans to introduce a smart ticketing system that lets travellers use a mobile phone or Oyster-style smartcard to “almost all of the rail network by the end [...]
Bank of England warns European banks are not ‘sufficiently focused’ on Brexit risks October 3, 2017 Bank of England officials are concerned European banks are underestimating the risks from Brexit of a disruption which could threaten as much as 10 per cent of lending to British companies, according to minutes of their latest meeting on financial stability. European banks are not “sufficiently focused” on the risks to their British operations, the [...]