Takeaways’ margins could be heading for the toilet if small businesses are forced to comply with new ruling May 19, 2016 THOUSANDS of London takeaways could see margins hit hard by a new High Court ruling that requires them to have public toilets, the Federation of Small Business (FSB) has warned. FSB is concerned that the new ruling opens the door to small businesses being forced to refurbish their premises in order to comply with “heavy [...]
MPC member Gertjan Vlieghe says the Bank of England could cut rates even if UK stays in the EU May 19, 2016 Interest rates could be cut after the referendum, even if the UK votes to stay inside the EU, a member of the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) has said. Gertjan Vlieghe, who joined the MPC as an external member in September, told an audience at the London School of Economics (LSE) this evening that if there was no [...]
US steel tariffs put UK market at greater risk says Labour May 19, 2016 Labour has clashed with the government over yesterday's hike in US steel tariffs, claimed that the change leaves the UK's steel producers further exposed. The US dramatically increased the cost of Chinese cold rolled steel yesterday, installing a new tariff, five times higher than its provisional charge. Speaking to City A.M. shadow business secretary Angela Eagle [...]
The four things which could tip the scales in favour of fintech startups over banks May 19, 2016 Banks can breath a sigh of relief. Fintech isn't going to make them obsolete any time soon, according to Moody's, but there are four things to look out for that have the potential to swing that balance in the other direction. There won't be a major shock of disruption from fintech, the credit agency has said [...]
Gin proves to be no mother’s ruin for Young’s and Co as sales soar May 19, 2016 A huge rise in demand for gin and sparkling wine gave Young’s and Co a tonic as the pub operator tapped into trends for premium drinks. Sales of sparkling wine rose by more than 25 per cent for the third year running, while the number of people downing spirits also increased. Gin, the drink du [...]
EU referendum: Remain appears to have gained ground in the polls, but the reality is more muddled May 19, 2016 Polling data is flooding into the public debate on the UK's membership of the EU ahead of the referendum in June. The latest poll by Ipsos MORI put Remain ahead by 18 percentage points, while YouGov's showed 44 per cent of respondents wanted Britain to stay in EU compared with 40 percent who wanted the country to [...]
Politics, not economics, could undo the European recovery May 19, 2016 A toxic combination of political risks in Europe pose the greatest threat to businesses across the continent, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) has warned today. Despite strong underlying fundamentals including robust consumer confidence and buoyant M&A prospects, the ratings agency said firms could be knocked off course by any number of political disruptions over the next few months. Brexit, [...]
Here’s what cigarette packaging will look like from tomorrow May 19, 2016 It's official: big tobacco has been told to back off and new plain packaging rules are due to come into force tomorrow. After a landmark ruling this morning, cigarette companies will be forced to package their products in a dirty green box (somewhere between olive and khaki), complete with those gruesome warnings about what their [...]
Toilet brushes, tables and mysterious purchases: should MPs treat expenses the same as the rest of us? May 19, 2016 Is a toilet brush a legitimate expense claim? MPs must reconsider what they claim for In this, the era of austerity, the UK public have been accustomed to hearing that we are only ever a few steps away from falling off a metaphoric economic cliff. “We are all in this’ together,” is the message from our politicians. [...]
Half of London women fear sexual harassment on the Tube May 19, 2016 It turns out the Tube can be a scary place. More than half of women in London worry about sexual harassment on public, according to new research – and 23 per cent said they had been victims of groping or other unwanted physical contact. Other Londoners said they had been subject to sexually offensive name [...]