Pfizer beats expectations in its first quarter, the share price climbs in pre-market trading May 3, 2016 US drug giant Pfizer has beaten expectations for revenue and earnings in the first quarter of 2016. The Viagra drug maker has posted revenue of $13.01bn (£8.87bn) ahead of expectations of $12.02bn and up from $10.86bn last year. Earnings came in at $0.67 per share, compared to estimates of $0.55, according to a Reuters analyst poll. The 19.7 per cent rise in [...]
Starter for 10: Think tank report urges Stephen Crabb to take on a Universal Challenge May 3, 2016 Stephen Crabb may just be settling into his new role as secretary of state for work and pensions, but a report published today is urging him to take on George Osborne and crew over universal credit. The study by think tank the Resolution Foundation warns that universal credit risks not meeting the goals it was proposed for if [...]
Employers rely on this many workers from elsewhere in the EU May 3, 2016 UK employers rely on a workforce made up of over one million EU workers, a study out today has found. According to the research by Adecco and the Social Market Foundation, there are 1.6m employees in the UK who hail from somewhere else in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, which equates to around [...]
European Commission trims growth forecasts and warns on EU referendum May 3, 2016 Growth and inflation will remain weak for the rest of the year, the European Commission has said as it cut its outlook for the continent in its quarterly economic forecast, released today, and warned Brexit could knock growth even further The Eurozone area will grow by 1.6 per cent this year – down from a [...]
Health insurance in the UK is about to become more costly, but it could be worse – you could be shopping for a policy in Russia May 3, 2016 The cost of health insurance in the UK is expected to experience its biggest jump for the last five years, according to a report out today. The research by Willis Towers Watson found that health insurance costs were expected to grow by 6.5 per cent in the UK in 2016, which is one of the [...]
Bleak outlook for UK manufacturing industry – is Brexit to blame? May 3, 2016 Confidence in the manufacturing industry plummeted in April, according to the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) data out this morning, raising fears about a sustained slowdown in the sector – and the wider economy. On a scale where scores below 50 mark contraction, the Markit/Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS) survey came in at 49.2 – [...]
Why are the kids out on strike and how is everybody reacting? May 3, 2016 Thousands of school students were planning not to show up to class today in protest at the new Standard Assessment Tests (Sats) in a move dubbed the "kids strike". The protest is officially against the Year Two Sats, taken by six and seven year olds, though infant and primary school children up to the age of [...]
How to upset the odds: Business leadership lessons from Leicester City and Claudio Ranieri May 3, 2016 NULL
Now Zac Goldsmith’s campaign claims it’s as quick to commute to Venice than it is to reach Bromley on the train May 3, 2016 It may be the final few days of London's mayoral election, but things are continuing to heat up – after Zac Goldsmith's campaign made some pretty strong claims about the capital's commute times. The Conservative candidate's campaign has crunched the number and discovered it takes as long for some of the capital's commuters to reach [...]
Challenging market conditions cause HSBC profits dip, but it could have been worse May 3, 2016 Banking giant HSBC has today revealed that its profits had slipped in its first quarter of 2016, kicking off the start of a week of earning announcements from notable names. Shares in the company were trading down 0.9 per cent at 448.4p shortly before 9:30am London time. The figures The bank announced an adjusted profit before tax [...]