UK care homes at risk of financial ruin as Living Wage costs bite November 30, 2015 Hundreds of British care homes are facing financial ruin as a result of the Living Wage, with the sector expected to come up against a £500m funding gap next year. According to data from corporate health specialists Company Watch, costs across the sector could rise by as much as £900m with the introduction of the [...]
How German discounter Lidl became the UK’s fastest growing supermarket November 30, 2015 At Lidl on Clapham Road, south London, friends Raquel Zantedeschi and Beatriz Castro are doing their weekend shop together, their baskets filled with fresh produce, meat and Lidl’s own brand cheeses. Being Italian, Zantedeschi, 35, jokes that she knows her produce: “I personally come here to buy fruit and vegetables that come from Italy and [...]
Battle of the Banks: UBS is financial advisor to the most FTSE 100 companies, followed by JP Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch November 30, 2015 UBS has managed to win the battle of the banks and remain at the top of the table of FTSE 100 financial advisors for another year, with 14 clients in the UK's blue-chip index, according to Adviser Rankings' data. JP Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BoAML) were just behind with 13 and 11 [...]
HS2 route from Birmingham to Crewe to open six years early November 30, 2015 The high speed rail link connecting Crewe to Birmingham will open six years ahead of schedule in 2027. It follows the cost of High Speed 2 rising to more than £55bn, announced in the Autumn Statement last week. Two years ago the project was costed at £50.1bn. Meanwhile, the former director general of the Confederation of [...]
Peer-to-peer lender LendInvest on track to back £1bn of new properties by 2016 November 30, 2015 Peer-to-peer (P2P) property lending and investment firm LendInvest said it has doubled the number of properties it has supplied finance to over the last year, as developers scramble to keep up with demand for more homes. The alternative lender, which aims to plug the funding gap left by high street banks, has backed 1,222 new [...]
Chinese yuan to be included in elite currency basket today November 30, 2015 China is today fully expected to have its currency, the yuan, added to the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) basket of reserve currencies, or special drawing rights (SDR). With IMF director Christine Lagarde giving her blessing earlier this month, it looks to many like a done deal. The SDR basket currently includes the pound, US dollar, [...]
Jeremy Clarkson: Former Top Gear frontman helps Amazon Prime promote drone delivery November 29, 2015 Amazon has hinted at delivery by air drone and has called in none other than former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson to lend a hand. According to an accompanying FAQ page, which was put live today, Prime Air drones will be able to deliver packages of up to five pounds in 30 minutes or less, [...]
Morrisons in danger of falling out of FTSE 100 as blue-chip index comes up for renewal November 29, 2015 Supermarket Morrisons is in danger relegation from the FTSE 100 list of Britain’s biggest companies as the prestigious blue-chip index comes up for renewal this week. Morrisons has been hovering near the bottom of the index over the last year and narrowly avoided being kicked out in the last quarterly reshuffles in June and September. Its share price has fallen by [...]
Virgin Atlantic seeks to raise cash from Heathrow runway slots November 29, 2015 Virgin Atlantic has been given an air operator certificate for a new corporate entity called Virgin Atlantic International (VAL), sparking rumours the airline is looking to raise money against its slots on Heathrow's runways. The company said it did not comment on “market speculation”. Virgin, owned by Sir Richard Branson and Delta Air Lines, will reportedly [...]
Bankers bonuses under threat as industry faces cut backs November 29, 2015 Some of the biggest banks in Europe and the US are cutting back on bonuses after a decline in yearly profits. Credit Suisse is rumored to be considering slashing its bonus pool by up to 60 per cent, while Deutsche Bank is expected to reduce its payouts by 30 per cent. Barclays is reportedly looking [...]