Queen bees contribute more to the UK economy than the Queen herself June 17, 2015 Pollinating bees contribute an estimated £651m to the UK's economy each year by helping crops to grow, researchers at the University of Reading have suggested – £150m more than the value of tourism brought to Britain by the Royal Family. The results, published in the journal Nature Communications, show that apples and strawberries are particularly reliant [...]
Greek crisis: UK stepping up contingency plans for Grexit says George Osborne June 17, 2015 The government has started planning for a Greek exit from the Eurozone, George Osborne has confirmed. Read more: European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker says Greece has been misleading its voters A Grexit would pose "serious economic risks" to the UK, the chancellor said today, as David Cameron prepares to discuss the crisis with Italy's Prime Minister [...]
Rangers shareholders vote against immediate repayment of Mike Ashley’s £5m loan June 17, 2015 More than half of Rangers' shareholders have voted against paying back Mike Ashley's £5m immediately. The Sports Direct founder and owner of Newcastle called a meeting at Ibrox on Friday – which he did not attend personally – seeking repayment of the loan as well as an explanation for why the club had delisted from [...]
Sterling jumps as UK wage growth smashes expectations and unemployment falls again June 17, 2015 The pound leaped 0.54 per cent against the dollar to $1.5715 this morning, after data from the Office for National Statistics showed wages grew 2.7 per cent between February and April. Wage growth is at its fastest rate since Augest 2001, smashing expectations of 2.5 per cent. It is significantly higher than inflation, which stands at 0.1 [...]
Rupert Murdoch steps down as 21st Century Fox chief: Here’s a chart of every company his son James will inherit (and the News Corp empire) June 17, 2015 Rupert Murdoch has announced he will be stepping down from his post as chief executive of 21st Century Fox in two weeks. Read more: James Murdoch confirmed as new 21st Century Fox chief exec Murdoch’s son, James, will take over, leaving Rupert and his other son, Lachlan, as executive co-chairmen. Chase Carey, a career Murdoch man [...]
Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee meeting minutes show members vote 9-0 to keep rates unchanged in June June 17, 2015 The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 9-0 to keep interest rates unchanged at its meeting ending June 3 minutes released today have shown. Read more: UK shrugs off deflation as prices rise 0.1 per cent in May All nine members voted to hold interest rates at 0.5 per cent, although two members said their [...]
Eurozone inflation rises 0.3 per cent in May June 17, 2015 Eurozone inflation rose 0.3 per cent in the year to May a second estimate released today by statistics agency Eurostat has shown, in line with economists' expectations, and up from zero in April. The largest prices increases came from vegetables which rose 0.09 per cent, restaurants and cafes which increased 0.08 per cent and tobacco [...]
RBS share price falls as Natwest urgently investigates “missing” customer payments June 17, 2015 Natwest has launched an emergency investigation into “missing” customer payments caused by yet more computer glitches. The RBS-owned bank said this morning it was looking into the issue “as a matter of urgency”, telling customers it was a “technical issue with payments crediting”. It said those who needed to access funds today should [...]
UK house prices: Tony Pidgley’s Berkeley calls for Britain to stay in the EU as housebuilder’s profits rise 42 per cent June 17, 2015 London-centred residential property developer Berkeley Group announced a 42 per cent increase in full-year profits today, but warned a British exit from the EU would be bad for the capital's property market. Read more: How can the UK build more houses? In preliminary results for the year to the end of April, Berkeley stressed that the [...]
Betfair enjoys surge in profits as customer base grows by half June 17, 2015 Betfair Group enjoyed a surge in profits following a 52 per cent increase in its active customer base in 2015, leading to its chief executive saying the company is "well positioned for further growth". The figures Betfair's revenue for 2015 was up 21 per cent on 2014 – standing at £476.5m. This led to profits [...]