WH Smith agrees to cut hospital store prices September 23, 2015 WHSmith has agreed to lower prices of some products in its hospital stores after an investigation revealed that the retailer was charging significantly more for some items than on the high street. The chain came under fire from Labour MP Paula Sherriff, who sits on the House of Commons select committee, following reports by the BBC this summer that WHSmith [...]
London jobs will be safe from the National Living Wage September 23, 2015 While some business figures have warned about the potentially nasty side-effects of the government's National Living Wage it appears London will be largely immune from this. The National Living Wage means employees aged over 25 will be paid £7.20 an hour from next April, rising to 60 per cent of median earnings in 2020, estimated to be [...]
How much are employees really worth to their companies? Apple, Google, and Microsoft show tech companies have highest revenue per employee September 23, 2015 How much are employees really worth? And how much would every person in a company get paid if they earned their value? Shell’s workforce would consist of 94,000 multi millionaires, according to a study by Expert Market, and every Apple employee would get paid just over £1m. The value of employees at the world’s top [...]
Chancellor George Osborne announces North Powerhouse deal as part of China visit September 23, 2015 George Osborne unveiled a deal this morning for a major Chinese investment into three Northern Powerhouse schemes that will create 10,000 new homes, after a controversial visit to a Chinese region at the centre of a human rights row. The chancellor became the first serving government minister to visit Urumqi, in the region of Xinjiang, northwest China, [...]
Eurozone economy expanding – but “worrying failure of growth” remains September 23, 2015 The Eurozone economy expanded in September, continuing a year of robust growth, according to survey figures released this morning. Markit’s flash purchasing managers’ index (PMI) scored 53.9 for this month, down slightly from August but still above the 50 score that implies no growth and in line with economic growth. France’s economy improved in September, with the [...]
Blow for George Osborne’s deficit plans as public borrowing climbs in August September 23, 2015 Government borrowing jumped in August, ending a positive run of results for chancellor George Osborne this year. Public sector borrowing excluding state-owned banks was £12.1bn in August, up £1.4bn on the same month last year, according to figures released this morning by the Office for National Statistics. This was the biggest August deficit since 2012. Despite the rise, [...]
Hedge fund Marshall Wace lends support to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s economic policy People’s QE September 23, 2015 One of Britain's wealthiest hedge fund managers has leant weight to what's arguably the cornerstone of new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's economic policies – so-called People's QE. People's QE would involve the Bank of England (BoE) investing "in large-scale housing, energy, transport and digital projects". But critics, including Bank of England governor Mark Carney, have [...]
Uber’s new carpooling service Uber Commute could change your commute September 23, 2015 Uber is trialling a carpool tool which allows people on longer drives to pick up extra passengers they can split the cost with. The new service, called Uber Commute, will be piloted in Chengdu, China first, but the plan is to expand to the rest of the world, Uber said in a statement: Over time [...]
Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn statement: Car boss asks for “trust in our journey” – but there is no mention of resignation yet September 23, 2015 Embattled Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn has said he would do anything for trust… but he won't do that. In a video statement issued this afternoon, Winterkorn said the car giant would do "everything necessary to reverse the damage. And we will do everything necessary to win back trust – step by step". It [...]
BBA Aviation’s share price down as it sets out deal to buy Carlyle Group’s Landmark Aviation for more than $2bn (£1.3bn). September 23, 2015 BBA Aviation's share price was down in mid-morning trading on the back of news that it could buy out private equity-owned Landmark Aviation for more than $2bn (£1.3bn). The British aircraft services provider confirmed this morning that it was making a $2.065bn offer for the Carlyle Group-owned business, which will be partly funded through a [...]