Ireland agrees to appeal against €13bn Apple tax repayment demand from EU September 2, 2016 Ireland's coalition government has agreed to appeal against a multi-billion-euro back tax demand that the European Commission slapped on iPhone maker Apple earlier this week, after independent members of the Cabinet gave their backing. "A motion will come before the Dail (the Irish parliament) on Wednesday seeking an endorsement of that decision," a government spokesman said. On Tuesday, [...]
Supermarket chic: Sainsbury’s to launch new premium fashion brand September 2, 2016 Hobbs, LK Bennett and Whistles could be feeling nervous this weekend – as Sainsbury's prepares to launch its new range of women's clothing early next week. The supermarket group named those three high-end brands in particular as it threw down the gauntlet in the battle to win more customers with its new collection. "The quality and styling [...]
“Shameful” Southern rail owner set for best one-day stock market performance since 2009 September 2, 2016 Southern Rail owner Go-Ahead Group is set for its best one-day performance on the stock market since 2009. Go-Ahead was slammed as "shameful" as it reported a 27 per cent growth in statutory pre-tax profits this morning. But investors are flocking to the company, with shares currently up more than nine per cent to 2,184p. If the nine [...]
London housing crisis may be fuelled by long-term Airbnb letting, landlords body suggests September 2, 2016 London's housing shortage is being fuelled by a rise in long-term letting via sites such as Airbnb, a new report has suggested. Airbnb has hit back at the research, describing it as "misleading". The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) research in June found that 61 per cent of entire homes and apartments listed on Airbnb are available [...]
Construction PMI: Industry decline slows in August – but fails to keep pace with upbeat manufacturing figures September 2, 2016 The UK construction industry's decline continued in August – but the pace slowed significantly on July, figures out today showed. The construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which is closely watched by policymakers at the Bank of England, hit 49.2 in August. The seasonally-adjusted Markit/CIPS figure remained below the 50 threshold (any figure above which denotes growth) for [...]
Samsung stops selling Galaxy Note 7 and issues recall after reports of spontaneous explosions September 2, 2016 South Korean smartphone manufacturer Samsung is pulling its latest handset off the shelves – due to a risk of spontaneous combustion. The product recall was prompted by reports of phone batteries exploding. “Samsung is committed to producing the highest quality products and we take every incident report from our valued customers very seriously. In response to recently [...]
Asos vs Assos: Asos just paid out £20m to settle a trademark dispute September 2, 2016 In the battle of Asos vs Assos, there were only ever going to be two winners. Online retail giant Asos announced today it had settled a trademark dispute with Assos of Switzerland, a high-performance cycle wear manufacturer and German menswear retailer Anson's Herrenhaus. Asos said it will pay a total of £20.2m in cash to Assos and [...]
Retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone says Brexit will hit growth plans September 2, 2016 UK retirement home builder McCarthy & Stone said today that June's EU referendum had cast doubt on its plans for growth. Shares in the company are down by more than 10 per cent in this morning's trading. [charts-share-price id="512"] Ahead of reporting its full year results in November, McCarthy & Stone said today that legal completions [...]
Southern rail owner apologises to commuters as it reports 27 per cent profit growth September 2, 2016 Southern Rail stakeholder Go-Ahead Group has apologised to customers for a disrupted service as it reported a 27 per cent growth in pre-tax profits. The results came at the end of a summer filled with disruptions for users of Southern rail. Go-Ahead shares rocketed more than seven per cent on Friday morning. The figures Go-Ahead has reported [...]
Scooters in the City: A quick way to kill your credibility September 2, 2016 In this sprawling metropolis, it’s not often you notice the same person twice outside of your normal routine. But nearly every morning I see this same chap: well groomed, early 30s, nicely cut suit – you know the type. In fact you might even be him, or umpteen others like him. He wouldn’t stand out among the [...]