London’s helping the jobs boom with eight per cent jump in professional vacancies September 28, 2015 The financial services sector is helping to drive a boom for professional recruitment firms, which now have eight per cent more vacancies on their books compared to last year. According to data from the Association of Professional Staffing Companies (APSCo), permanent vacancies across finance and accounting, IT and media and marketing are all up year-on-year, [...]
Volkswagen emissions scandal: Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s warn on VW credit rating over car pollution catastrophe September 28, 2015 Credit ratings agencies Standard & Poor's (S&P) and Moody's have both warned over the credit rating of embattled carmaker Volkswagen. "We expect Volkswagen to incur substantial remediation costs to correct the engines of the cars affected and potentially face material fines from regulators. " analysts at S&P said. "Criminal charges in the US may also follow. [...]
Royal Dutch Shell to cease Arctic drilling and offshore oil exploration in the Burger J well in Alaska September 28, 2015 Royal Dutch Shell will cease offshore oil exploration in Alaska, after the company announced plans to retreat from the Arctic due to high production costs. Shell said in a statement it had “found indications of oil and gas in the Burger J well”, but that these were “not sufficient to warrant further exploration”. The oil [...]
1700 jobs go as SSI closes Recar plant September 28, 2015 SSI is closing its Redcar steel plant, with the loss of up to 1,700 jobs, it was announced this morning. Production had been suspended last week as the firm attempted to ride out the collapse of global steel prices. Workers staged a rally over the weekend as they attempted to keep their jobs, saying it [...]
Banks push back against government proposals to separate high street and investment banking in ringfencing reforms September 28, 2015 Britain’s biggest banks are preparing to ramp up their arguments against government proposals to separate high street and investment banking, ahead of a new Bank of England consultation next month. The banks have long criticised so-called ringfencing reforms, intended to separate retail banking operations from other investment practices. The plans are designed to protect savers [...]
Volkswagen emissions scandal: Bumpy road ahead for VW as probes launched September 28, 2015 Scandal-hit German car giant Volkswagen faces another tough week as several governments are set to launch investigations into the fiddling of emissions tests on its diesel engines. The news comes as it emerges that Volkswagen, already reeling from the backlash over what is known – inevitably – as dieselgate, was warned about cheating emissions tests [...]
SSI facing fuel shortage but still stays silent on plans for Redcar September 28, 2015 The owner of Redcar steel works could be forced to announce its plans for the future tomorrow, when it is expected to run out of fuel. Thai steel firm SSI suspended production at the plant last week, citing rising costs and a slump in demand. Almost 2,000 workers are awaiting more information from the company [...]
When will interest rates rise? Economists expect hold until mid-2016 September 28, 2015 The Bank of England is not expected to raise interest rates until the middle of 2016, according to new forecasts from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR). It had previously expected a rise to come as soon as February. The think tank has blamed the push back on concerns over the global economy, [...]
UK to dodge spectre of secular stagnation as investment rises September 28, 2015 Britain is set to avoid falling into “secular stagnation” – low inflation and interest rates holding back investment in advanced economies – according to forecasting group the EY Item Club. The think tank has reported that business investment in the UK has performed relatively strongly since the economy emerged from recession at the end of [...]
EU referendum: Bosses speak out on European Union benefits September 28, 2015 Nearly two-thirds of directors say that the benefits of Britain remaining in the European Union outweigh the negatives, according to a new survey out today. The Institute of Directors (IoD) polled more than 1,200 of its members earlier this year, finding that 65 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement “from my organisation’s perspective, [...]