UK bank bonus rounds 2016: Boss’ bonuses hit as banks reward junior staff instead – while Citigroup awarded the best bonuses this year March 13, 2016 Looking for a job in banking? You could do a lot worse than heading to Citigroup, which awarded the biggest rise in bonuses this year, according to new research. In fact, Citi was the only bank to increase bonuses for mid-ranking managers, according to salary benchmarking site Emolument. The bank increased its VPs’ bonuses four per [...]
Bye-bye Heathrow expansion? Justine Greening predicts a third runway will be grounded by David Cameron March 13, 2016 A cabinet minister has taken a surprisingly outspoken stance on the UK's airport expansion, predicting that the Prime Minister will ditch plans for a third runway at Heathrow. International development secretary and west London MP Justine Greening made the comments despite ministers being warned against making any statements on the issue. The government has delayed making a decision on what form airport [...]
AlphaGo fourth Go game result: Google DeepMind’s artificial intelligence just made a mistake and lost to human player Lee Sedol March 13, 2016 The machines this week triumphed over man, as Google DeepMind's artificial intelligence (AI) took on the top – and very human – player in the ancient chess-like Chinese game of Go, winning three of their matches. However, the fourth bout between them has reversed the tables and resulted in Lee Sedol triumphing over AlphaGo for the first time. The technology "pressured AlphaGo into a [...]
Budget 2016: George Osborne warns of further cuts to public spending as “hopes of a stronger global recovery have evaporated” March 13, 2016 George Osborne has warned that a slowing global economy will mean more cuts to public spending ahead of this week's Budget. "The hopes of a stronger global recovery have evaporated," he said. "Instead the world economy is slowing." The chancellor cited China's slowdown, falling oil and commodity prices, political instability in the Middle East, as well [...]
Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell declares end to tax-and-spend in bid to pursue “mainstream with commonsense policies” March 12, 2016 NULL
Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne to kick start £16bn B&B sell-off March 12, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne is gearing up to kick start a £16bn sale of bailed-out banking group Bradford and Bingley (B&B) loans in next week's Budget. Osborne decided to include the projected sale of the mortgage lender on Wednesday, following weeks of discussions with Treasury officials. The timing of the auction is unclear, and it may not conclude for months, giving investor's appetites [...]
Budget 2016: Chancellor George Osborne to announce UK will test driverless cars on motorways from next year March 12, 2016 Driverless cars could transverse the UK's motorways for the first time in 2017, bringing Britain a step closer to its goal of having autonomous cars fully operational by 2020. Chancellor George Osborne is expected to announce plans in next week's Budget to test vehicles on motorways and say the government will bring forward proposals to remove regulatory [...]
Remortgaging activity: Homeowners slow to switch from standard variable rate mortgages to fixed rate mortgages March 12, 2016 Homeowners are failing to lock into low repayment rates by switching from a standard variable rate mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage, research by high street bank Halifax has shown. Although housing transactions in 2014 exceeded the one million mark for a second consecutive year, and fixed rates continue to fall below the standard variable rate, remortgaging activity remains subdued, it [...]
EDF reiterates “confidence” Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant will go-ahead despite funding concerns March 12, 2016 French utility giant EDF has reiterated its confidence that the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset will go ahead, despite mounting concern over whether it can afford its share of the £18bn project. EDF's chairman and chief executive Jean-Bernard Levy was forced to defend Hinkley after the company's finance director Thomas Piquema resigned over fears about the whether EDF's already stretched balance sheet [...]