Vodafone raises dividends as it predicts better things to come May 17, 2016 Vodafone's share price rose in early trading this morning, after the telecoms giant reported further declines in its final results for the year – but forecast a turnaround to come in 2017. The figures Group revenues fell three per cent to £40.9bn in the 12 months to 31 March, while group services revenues dropped 3.5 per cent to £37.2bn. Organic revenues [...]
Plumbers ramp up fees on emergency call outs by 117 per cent May 17, 2016 Plumbers ramp up their fees by a staggering 117 per cent if they are called out in an emergency, new research has found. Householders who desperately need a tradesperson to fix a water leak end up paying a “plumber premium” on the normal hourly rate, with some plumbers quoting up to £300+VAT an hour, according to [...]
Job vacancies fall in April due to National Living Wage May 17, 2016 UK companies are hiring less staff due to the National Living Wage, a new report has concluded. The higher minimum wage was introduced on 1 April and means workers aged 25 and above must be paid at least £7.20 an hour, which equates to a pay rise for 1.3 million workers this year, according to [...]
Canary Wharfers’ favourite dating app is taking a leaf out of Grindr’s book May 17, 2016 Keep your eyes peeled for covert meet-ups in Canary Wharf this week. Dating app Happn, hugely popular with suited workers in the Docklands, has unveiled a new feature called "See You There". The app, which lets singletons connect with people they’ve crossed paths with in real life, has launched the feature to actively encourage more meet-ups [...]
The break-up plan: It’s high time to end Britain’s banking oligopoly May 17, 2016 It has been called a near banking "oligopoly". The Big Four banks enjoy such market dominance that they reportedly hold more than three quarters of all active current accounts. According to the FCA, the largest six banks also control 80 per cent of the mortgage market. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) grew sufficiently concerned [...]
Christine Lagarde is wrong: Here are four economic positives from Brexit May 17, 2016 IMF chief Christine Lagarde said last week she has “not seen anything positive” about Brexit in terms of economics. Even for the head of a global body which we might expect would dislike major political disruption to the international order, and a good friend of the chancellor, this shows a remarkable lack of imagination. Suffering [...]
Has craft beer lost its flavour to globalisation? May 17, 2016 It's 2001, it’s a Friday night, and I’m enjoying a well-earned sip or two of a raspberry-flavoured wheat beer after a hard week of college. The pub in question was the Greenwich Union, in southeast London. Only just opened in 2001, it housed some of the finest offerings from the local Meantime Brewing Company. These beers [...]
Tale of two cities: Winners and losers in the London housing market May 17, 2016 House prices in some of prime central London’s most expensive postcodes have plummeted by more than 10 per cent, while further out of town prices have powered ahead, resulting in a new two-speed market in the capital. The sea-change, caused by factors as diverse as stamp duty reforms and an economic slowdown in China, is creating [...]
How M&A buyers are taking a “watch and wait” approach to UK acquisitions ahead of EU referendum May 17, 2016 Another day, another M&A report, another conclusion relating to the EU referendum. Buyers are taking a “watch and wait” approach to UK acquisitions before the EU referendum next month, according to Deloitte. Global M&A activity has slumped so far in 2016 following a record-breaking 2015, in which more than $5 trillion worth of deals were announced. [...]
Preston millionaire Yousuf Bhailok pulls out of BHS bidding May 17, 2016 Today is the deadline for bidders to improve their offers in the battle for acquiring BHS, ahead of a final decision on the sale which could come as soon as tomorrow. Administrators Duff & Phelps have been assessing bids from various parties over the past week and it is understood that a decision will be made [...]