London’s the best place in the world for fostering fintech as industry eyes new success measures September 27, 2016 London is the best city in the world for fostering fintech, ahead of New York, Silicon Valley and Hong Kong – but it faces a run for its money from Singapore – as the industry pushes for better measures for assessing its contribution to the economy and the government's new industrial strategy. The two cities were ranked highest based [...]
Businesses heart the internet but experts warn there is more to be done September 27, 2016 UK businesses could still do more to harness the power of the internet, experts have said at the Institute of Directors annual convention today. Martha Lane Fox, who is now a government digital adviser, told the audience: "There is still an enormous prize for the country that puts the internet at the heart of how [...]
Irn Bru maker AG Barr slams sugar tax and announces plans to shed 10 per cent of workforce September 27, 2016 Irn Bru and Rubicon maker AG Barr today announced it will shed 10 per cent of its total workforce in a major company shake-up. The “business-wide reorganisation” will lead to around 90 job losses, which will likely be concentrated in its commercial, supply chain and central operations, by the end of the current financial year. AG [...]
Bank of England’s quantitative easing is making the rich richer claims Osborne September 27, 2016 The UK's monetary policy has made "life difficult for savers" and has helped the rich become richer, former chancellor George Osborne has said. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Osborne said: “We need to offset the very necessary loose monetary policy and the distributional consequences that is having. Essentially it makes the rich richer and makes [...]
Wells Fargo faces two more lawsuits over bank accounts scandal September 27, 2016 Wells Fargo is facing fresh legal action from both employees and investors over the ongoing bank account scandal. The US retail bank, which agreed to pay a $185m fine for creating two million unauthorised bank accounts, is now looking at class action lawsuits from employees who were let go over the claims and investors who [...]
Liam Fox falls short of calling for hard Brexit September 27, 2016 Liam Fox has been accused of overstepping his mark after failing to deliver any significant detail on what trading relationships the UK will pursue outside the European Union. In a speech to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) today, the international trade secretary did not address the issue of whether the UK would seek to leave [...]
Sharing is caring: Airbnb wants half of London homes to be rentable through its platform September 27, 2016 Airbnb wants to help open up more front doors across London, with one of its senior staffers stating today he hopes half the homes in the Capital will be rentable on the platform in the future. However, Olivier Gremillon, managing director for EMEA for Airbnb, also told the audience at the Institute of Directors annual convention that this rather lofty [...]
Consumer spending eases back after summer splurge September 27, 2016 UK shoppers cut back in September following a summer splurge, though it has not dented the confidence of retailers, a new survey has found. The CBI’s distributive trades survey found 38 per cent of shops said sales volumes were down on September last year, while 30 per cent reported growth. The score of minus eight [...]
S&P warns European utilities’ nuclear liabilities have “shot up” September 27, 2016 Standard & Poor's said today that European utilities' nuclear liabilities "shot up" over the past 18 months and have moved "well beyond" the €100bn (£86bn) mark. The credit ratings agency warned that typically long-term liabilities are becoming more short-term and sometimes carry immediate funding needs. Read more: Dismantling Europe's old nuclear power plants will run up a [...]
US consumer confidence hits nine-year high September 27, 2016 Consumer confidence has hit a nine-year high in the US just six weeks before the country will elect its next President. According to The Conference Board, optimism jumped to 104.1, its highest level since the recession, from 101.8 one month ago, on an index where 100 represents the long-term average. Analysts had expected the index would dip [...]