UBS: European Court of Human Rights accepts petition to challenge French court ruling on helping clients avoid tax March 18, 2016 UBS has won the support of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to push through a challenge to a French ruling over whether it helped clients avoid tax. The Swiss bank said in its accounts filed today that the Strasbourgh-based ECHR had accepted a petition to challenge parts of the decision. UBS was placed under formal examination in [...]
Luck’s been a lady: Bookies pay out £50m so far as “worst Cheltenham ever” for betting industry goes into Gold Cup Day March 18, 2016 The odds weren't on the punters to win this year, but savvy betting has put the bookies down by £50m at the start of Gold Cup Day. The betting industry is holding its breath for respite on the final day of the week-long event after having to pay out over £50m so far over this week's [...]
MP Simon Danczuk has to pay back over £11,000 after “error” in expenses claims March 18, 2016 MP Simon Danczuk is going to have to pay back over £11,000 after wrongly claiming money. The MP had claimed money for the cost of his children living in London, sparking local Liberal Democrats to ask the police to check if he had wrongly claimed the money. Now the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority has ordered Danczuk [...]
Earth Hour 2016: London landmarks Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Gherkin, Piccadilly Circus, Harrods and the Ritz will all black out lights this weekend March 18, 2016 Some of London's most iconic buildings will switch off their lights for an hour this weekend, as part of a global environmental initiative. Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Gherkin, Piccadilly Circus, Harrods and the Ritz are all expected to take part in the capital's blackout, which starts at 8:30pm on Saturday (19 March). They will be [...]
US Presidential Election 2016: Senator Bernie Sanders slams calls for him to drop out of Democrat nomination race March 18, 2016 Senator Bernie Sanders has branded calls for him to drop out of the Democrat nomination race "absurd" amid claims President Barack Obama issued a rallying cry to the party to back Hillary Clinton. Obama told a group of Democrat donors last week that Sanders is coming to the point where his campaign to become the [...]
M&C Saatchi share price jumps as it posts record results for 2015 and hikes dividend 15 per cent March 18, 2016 The advertising major M&C Saatchi has unveiled record results and hiked its dividend, prompting its share price to climb this morning. The figures Operating profits rose 16 per cent to £18.6m in 2015, M&C Saatchi said this morning, while profit before tax grew by 17 per cent to £20.1m, in line with analyst expectations. The year of "outstanding progress" has [...]
Londoners are being failed by the rail regulator over train delays, says commuter group London TravelWatch March 18, 2016 The government has been urged to create a new system that would give commuters automatic compensation if their train is delayed by 15 minutes or more. Passenger group London TravelWatch has branded new measures for tackling train delays a "disappointment", and urged for a more decisive approach – which would include auto-payments for late trains. Regulator Office [...]
Knight Frank and Markit: London house prices experienced the biggest increase this month March 18, 2016 London house price growth is expected to beat all other regions this month despite a slowdown in the top of the market, new research has shown. Londoners perceived the biggest increase, followed by those in the South East, East of England, Scotland and then the North West. It's slightly surprising given price growth among prime central London properties [...]
Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne is less likely to become Conservative leader according to bookmakers as Labour takes the lead in poll March 18, 2016 In the wake of a Budget that failed to impress a range of spectators, chancellor George Osborne's support has slumped, with bookmakers widening his odds of becoming the next Prime Minister. After his much criticised Budget on Wednesday, Osborne has now been inflated from 11/4 to 3/1 by William Hill to succeed David Cameron, with [...]
Transport for London approves new regulations to “modernise and improve the private hire industry” as it cracks down on the growth of Uber March 18, 2016 Transport for London has approved a new plan to modernise and improve London's private hire industry. It is the first significant amendment to private hire regulations since they were first introduced following the surge in the number of private hire vehicles in the capital after the meteoric rise of Uber. The private hire vehicles will [...]