Competition and Markets Authority investigation into the UK’s big six energy companies: CMA wants energy price cap for pre-payment meters March 10, 2016 Britain's competition watchdog wants to introduce temporary price controls for four million households which are on pre-payment meters, as it laid out sweeping reforms aimed at injecting more competition into Britain's energy market. This would cut bills by a total of £300m a year and will remain in place until 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) [...]
Morrisons’ share price falls 2.5 per cent as dividend is cut on sales and profits decline March 10, 2016 Sales and profits at Morrisons have fallen again – but the supermarket management is talking confidently about progress made so far, and guided on future dividends in an effort to woo shareholders. Morrisons' share price was down 2.5 per cent in mid-morning trading, however, as investors digested the news that this year's dividend was being slashed [...]
Home Retail Group posts “significantly stronger” cash flow as time ticks on in Sainsbury’s vs Steinhoff bid for Argos March 10, 2016 Home Retail Group has revealed much higher cash flow levels and signs of improvement at Argos – the centre of a bidding war between Sainsbury's and Steinhoff. The figures Argos' like-for-likes dropped 2.6 per cent in the year to 27 February, to £4.1bn, as the retailer sustained second half declines of two per cent. Margins fell [...]
London financial services jobs: Asset management roles the shining star of the industry, and workers pulling in hefty payrises for changing jobs March 10, 2016 Those finding themselves a little too excited for the weekend might be interested to know that switching jobs can bump up their salary by almost a quarter, and it's a jobseekers' market for anybody who fancies a role in asset management, according to research released today. Professional services recruiter Morgan McKinley has found that firms are [...]
Stamp duty changes and Brexit uncertainty are weighing on prime London house prices – Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors March 10, 2016 Central London house prices stalled in February as the prices in the rest of the country and outer boroughs marched on. The difference between the number of property surveyors who said London prices had gone up minus those that had said they had gone down was three per cent. The same statistic for the UK [...]
PwC: UK economy to add another three million jobs over the next decade March 10, 2016 The sector will drive economic growth over the next decade as the UK creates another three million jobs, a financial services giant has forecast today. Business services – which includes IT, finance, legal services, recruitment and marketing – will be the main driver of growth, creating 1.5m jobs, PwC said. Manufacturing is forecast to decline [...]
Chancellor George Osborne could face £45bn budget black hole due to weaker economic growth March 9, 2016 Economists have warned weaker-than-expected economic growth will create a black hole in the public finances, forcing Chancellor George Osborne into further austerity measures in next week’s budget. Osborne was given a unexpected boost in November when the government’s fiscal watchdog, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), gave him an extra £27bn over the current parliament. [...]
Societe Generale to cut 550 jobs over next five years March 9, 2016 Societe Generale is to cut 550 jobs over the next five years. The bank confirmed it is targeting 550 job reductions in the back offices of its French retail banking network, resulting in the closures of six out of 20 locations. The French bank said the plan would not rely on mandatory redundancies. The move is part [...]
Bankers’ bonuses: Supreme Court sides with HMRC in appeal against UBS and Deutsche Bank, ruling out scheme designed to avoid income tax March 9, 2016 Bankers may see their bonuses sliced into, as the Supreme Court today sided with HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), agreeing that taxes could not be avoided when using a special scheme to award employees in shares. UBS and Deutsche Bank set up schemes to pay their bankers discretionary bonuses in redeemable shares in offshore companies. The [...]
Skyscrapers planned for London rise by more than a third with 119 new tall buildings added to planning pipeline March 9, 2016 (Source: Visualhouse/Dan Lowe) The number of tall buildings planned for London's ever expanding skyline has grown by moe than a third, with more than 100 new skyscrapers added to the pipeline over the last year. There are now 436 skyscrapers either planned or under construction in the capital, up from 317 a year earlier, according to fresh research from [...]