Zombie firms on the way out as creative destruction powers UK recovery December 3, 2013 So Joseph Schumpeter was right after all, creative destruction is a benefit not a cost to a thriving economy, so says a research note from London-based consultancy Capital Economics. Capital Economics finds that productivity growth in the UK is being driven largely by firms entering and exiting industries. Instead of the rise of zombie firms [...]
5 movie prop shockers – How much would you’ve paid for Walter White’s underwear? December 3, 2013 Perhaps another sign of global economic pickup, as recent movie prop auctions see people splashing out big time on their favourite memorabilia. Here are five movies (well, four films and one adulated TV series) that illustrate the point: Game of Death The coveted jumpsuit that clad Bruce Lee in "Game of Death" went up for [...]
Government scraps plans for toll pricing as taxpayers pick up tab – but is there another road ahead? December 3, 2013 The government has scrapped plans for the UK's first toll road in over 10 years. The bill to pay for improvements to the A14 will now be paid not by motorists but by the general taxpayer. It is now unlikely the government will feel emboldened to undertake more radical solutions to tackle the problems on [...]
OECD report confirms the UK is pouring money into schools without success December 3, 2013 We're throwing money at schools in the UK, and not getting much bang for that buck, is the alarming message from the OECD's 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) report. Our schools are ranked just 26th for maths, 23rd for reading and 21st for science – out of 34 OECD countries. That's damning for [...]
Expansion in UK construction is strongest in over six years – but where are the homes? December 3, 2013 As the Bank of England pulls away the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) mortgage incentives the UK's construction sector has seen a huge beat. Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the sector rose from 59.4 to a staggering 62.6 in November. Analysts had expected a fall to 59.0. That's the highest level since August 2007. [...]
Spanish unemployment edges lower in November December 3, 2013 Better news for Spain this morning as unemployment fell by 2,475 people in November. This marks the second-largest decline since this time series began, although it still leaves the total jobless figure at 4,808,908. Over the past 12 months, registered unemployment has fallen by 98,909, according to figures released by the government's labour ministry. Expectations [...]
Pearson lands largest private education provider in Brazil December 3, 2013 British publishing company Pearson has agreed to acquire Grupo Multi, the largest provider of private language schools in Brazil. Pearson will acquire the group for £440m in cash and the assumption of £65m of debt. The acquisition will significantly expand the group's presence in emerging markets. Group Multi serves over 800,000 students across 2,600 franchised [...]
RBS and Natwest apologise for payment chaos on Cyber Monday December 3, 2013 RBS and Natwest have apologised on social media service Twitter for the failure of the giant bank's payment system last night. Hundreds of thousands of customers couldn't make online purchases, as well as being unable to use physical debit and credit cards. We are very sorry for the issues that have affected customers tonight. — [...]
Betfair targets Italy and US for expansion December 3, 2013 Internet betting company Betfair has announced profit before tax of £31.7m in the six months ended 31 October and reported that it's been making "good progress" on a new exchange in Italy, along with the launch of a new online casino in New Jersey. Chief executive Breon Corcoran said that cost reductions over the past year [...]
Greene King serves up healthy profits as sales rise December 3, 2013 Pub retailer Greene King has posted solid profits and rising sales for the six months to 13 October. The company recorded a rise in pre-tax profit of 5.7 per cent to £85.6m while total revenue rose 5.2 per cent to £595.4m. Strong growth in key areas such as food helped drive like-for-like retail sales up 3.5 [...]