Worst sectors for boardroom diversity: Women joining FTSE 100 boards but mining lags far behind retail industry as Conservatives push to end gender pay gap July 13, 2015 More women are joining the boards of Britain’s most powerful companies, but there’s a big difference between different industries, a breakdown by sector reveals. In a bid to end the gender pay gap "in a generation”, Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans today to require UK firms to publish gender pay audits. But progress is [...]
Greek debt crisis: “Greece will continue to fight”, vows Alexis Tsipras July 13, 2015 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has triumphantly told his people that the country has "sent a message of democracy", after the embattled nation's government finally agreed a deal with creditors which will unlock three years of funding. Read more: Here's everything we know about Greece's new bailout deal In an official statement this afternoon, Tsipras said [...]
S&P 500 and Dow Jones jump as US markets open higher on Greece deal – but euro continues to fall July 13, 2015 Stocks opened higher after this morning's deal between Greece and its lenders. The S&P 500 jumped 0.8 per cent at the opening bell, while the Dow rose just over one per cent. Earlier, European markets had all reacted positively to the news, opening higher and maintaining that optimism, with the FTSE 100 hovering around 6,713 [...]
Here’s everything we know about Greece’s new deal with its creditors July 13, 2015 The FTSE 100 and the euro both rallied this morning after it was revealed that, after 17 hours (and six long months) of negotiations, Greece had finally reached a deal with its creditors. Although the details are still sketchy, here's what we know so far. The deal should unlock €82-86bn (£59-61bn) of funds for Greece [...]
#ThisIsACoup: Markets may be happy about the new Greek deal, but Twitter really isn’t July 13, 2015 The markets may be happy that at long last a deal has been agreed between Greece and its creditors, but on social media the environment is rather more frosty. As the details of the three-year bailout emerge – a deal that European Council president Donald Tusk said had "strict conditions" – the FTSE, Cac [...]
UK consumer spending growth soars to five-year high July 13, 2015 Britons wining and dining, indulging in nights out and partaking in leisure activities helped consumer spending in the three months to June hit its highest level in five years. Figures released today based on credit and debit card transactions from Visa Europe show consumer spending rose 1.4 percent annually in the three months to June, [...]
Greek debt crisis: Greece squeezed by European demands July 12, 2015 Greece was left stuck between a rock and a hard place last night after fellow European leaders urged its government to either push ahead with unpopular reforms, or accept a temporary – or permanent – exit from the Eurozone. Strained talks carried on into the early hours of this morning, following a day of [...]
UK growth picks up but global fears hit morale July 12, 2015 Strong domestic demand is lifting UK growth, according to new figures out this morning, yet fears over global headwinds are knocking confidence in the economy. Lloyds Bank’s purchasing managers’ index – a survey of businesses – climbed to a score of 57.5 in June from May’s 55.9, new data reveals today. London led the [...]
David Cameron’s housing construction shake-up fails to build market confidence: Experts disagree residential planning overhaul is game changer July 12, 2015 Housing developers had a bit of a rollercoaster ride last week. First the Budget rocked shares, with changes to tax relief on buy-to-let mortgages – and then, on Friday, the government unexpectedly put house building at the centre of its plan to boost the UK’s productivity. With the cost of a home jumping by 45 [...]
Women still left out of top FTSE positions July 12, 2015 Britain's blue chip firms hit their target of 25 per cent female directors this week, but campaigners say more still needs to be done. Research by Sapphire Partners, an executive recruitment agency, revealed that with several recent appointments, including Diane Schueneman at Barclays, Irene Lee and Pauline van der Meer Mohr at HSBC and [...]