UK shoppers are turning to websites overseas in search of a better bargain, says PwC February 29, 2016 Better prices would drive two thirds of UK consumers to shop from an online retailer outside of the country, according to a report that reveals dramatic changes in shopping behaviour over the last year. Accountancy firm PwC surveyed nearly 23,000 people across six continents about their shopping habits for its annual Total Retail report released [...]
Retailers John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Home Retail Group, Kingfisher and John Lewis top list of offenders in late supplier payments February 29, 2016 Britain's five largest high street retailers were late in paying a shocking 80 per cent of their invoices to suppliers last year, a report today has revealed. MarketInvoice, a peer-to-peer platform for selling invoices online, has found that late payments to suppliers rocketed last year, with high street retailers John Lewis, Boots, Home Retail Group, Marks & [...]
Financial sector leads professional job creation – Apsco February 29, 2016 Landing a role in finance got easier in January as the number of vacancies soared 12 per cent on the same month last year. Stronger demand was reflected in pay growth. Average salaries in banking jobs have gone up 4.9 per cent, according to the data released by the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (Apsco) [...]
Big data and the internet of things will add £322bn and 217,000 jobs to the economy by 2020 – CEBR February 29, 2016 Big data and the internet of things could add £322bn to the UK economy by 2020, new research from industry analysts and economists reveals today. The internet of things – the network of everyday items fitted with electronics to allow them to collect and exchange data – could lead to £72bn of efficiency gains and 67,000 new [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct faces relegation from FTSE 100 index February 28, 2016 Sports Direct faces relegation from the FTSE 100 list when the blue chip index of top UK companies comes up for renewal next week, after a dismal performance this year. Shares in Mike Ashley’s troubled sportswear empire have plunged by 50 per cent since August last year amid growing criticism over its working practices and [...]
Former Bank of England governor Mervyn King says the Eurozone is doomed to fail February 28, 2016 Mervyn King, the former governor of the Bank of England, has warned that the Eurozone is doomed to fail. Bailouts and other measures employed to keep the euro area intact "will lead to not only an economic but a political crisis", according to King's new book, The End of Alchemy, which is being serialised in [...]
AstraZeneca warned over bonus changes February 28, 2016 Drug giant AstraZeneca is on course to fall out with shareholders at its April meeting after floating plans to lower the threshold for senior management bonuses. AstraZeneca tied bonuses to earnings at or above $4.20 (£3) per share after a takeover offer from US rival Pfizer was rejected in 2014. The firm’s remuneration committee has [...]
Oil price nervous ahead of Opec mid-March meeting February 28, 2016 The oil price is set for another rocky week as tensions build ahead of a second round of historic talks to cap output levels. The Saudi Arabia led Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has been negotiating a deal with non-Opec Russia to freeze oil production at January levels and will meet again in mid-March. [...]
Miners look to asset sales for relief February 28, 2016 The mining industry is set for further pain this week, as Glencore and Fresnillo report preliminary results for 2015 tomorrow. Analysts are expecting a fall in pre-tax profit at Glencore of up to 80 per cent, as well as details of how the Switzerland based FTSE 100 miner will go about cutting its $13bn (£9.4bn) [...]
Steel sector renews calls for EU action February 28, 2016 The steel industry is calling on the government to fight for higher tariffs on imported steel at crunch talks in Brussels tomorrow. The European Union’s competitiveness council is set to debate whether further action should be taken to support the industry after Brussels imposed tariffs on some types of steel from China earlier this year. The [...]