Easyjet buys Thomas Cook slots at Gatwick and Bristol for £36m November 8, 2019 Budget airline Easyjet has bought the take-off and landing slots of collapsed travel company Thomas Cook at London Gatwick and Bristol airports for £36m. The company announced today it has bought 12 summer slot pairs and eight winter slot pairs at Gatwick and six summer slot pairs and one winter slot pair at Bristol, in [...]
RBS launches ‘social bond’ for deprived areas November 8, 2019 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has launched a “social bond” aimed at boosting lending within deprived areas of the UK. The banking giant announced this morning that the bond would be linked to roughly £2.5bn of lending to small firms in disadvantaged areas. Read more: HSBC receives second warning from Bank of England An [...]
Billionaire boom slows down as uncertainty hits the super-wealthy November 8, 2019 The billionaire boom has grounded to a halt, as a year of political upheaval took its toll on the world’s super-wealthy. A new report has found that billionaires’ wealth dipped by $388bn in 2018, following five years of growth. Read more: Bovis Homes agrees £1.1bn deal for Galliford Try housing business While the Americas saw [...]
Standard Chartered slashes CEO and CFO pay in wake of revolt November 8, 2019 Standard Chartered said today that it has slashed the pension payouts to its two top bosses, bowing to shareholder demands in the wake of a major investor rebellion. Chief executive Bill Winters and chief financial officer Andy Halford will see their retirement allowance dropped from 20 per cent of their annual salary to 10 per [...]
US stock markets rise as Beijing and Washington agree to scrap some tariffs November 7, 2019 US stock markets have opened higher after China said it had agreed with the US to cancel tariffs in phases, signalling a thawing of the frosty trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies. Read more: European markets rise on US-China trade war hopes The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose by 0.7 per cent shortly after opening, [...]
London house prices: How London boroughs’ house prices have changed since the last election November 7, 2019 Prime central London house prices have taken the biggest hit since the last general election, as previously less desirable areas gain popularity. London constituencies further away from the centre were the biggest winners between June 2017 and now as buyers sought cheaper properties. Read more: UK house price growth slows in October House prices made [...]
General Election 2019: John McDonnell pledges ‘cutting-edge fiscal rules’ November 7, 2019 A Labour government would rip-up the basis for fiscal rules, to exclude borrowing for investment from targets “so it’s recognised as both a cost and as a benefit”. Speaking from Liverpool Riverside, a seat held by former Labour MP Louise Ellman who quit last month over anti-Semitism concerns, John McDonnell told supporters a Labour government [...]
General Election 2019: Labour to shift ‘powerful section of Treasury’ to North November 7, 2019 A Labour government would shift a “powerful section of the Treasury” out of London to the north of England, John McDonnell will say today. Speaking in his home city of Liverpool, the shadow chancellor will detail plans to move the “centre of the gravity in political decision-making and investment” out of the capital. In his [...]
General Election 2019: Liberal Democrats, Green and Plaid Cymru ‘Unite to Remain’ pact for 60 seats unveiled November 7, 2019 The Liberal Democrats, Green Party and Plaid Cymru have struck a deal in which the parties will step aside for the most likely Remain candidate in 60 seats across England and Wales. Jo Swinson’s party will be given a clear run at 43 constituencies, including Bermondsey and Old Southwark, Chelsea and Fulham, Esher and Walton, [...]
RSA shares up on underwriting profit boost November 7, 2019 Shares in insurer RSA rose today after it announced underwriting profit had grown in the first nine months of the year. The FTSE 100 company said operating profit rose in the first nine months of the year, but did not publish third quarter numbers. RSA’s shares rose 3.3 per cent to 550p this morning. Read [...]