How to pass the time during your commute: One in three Britons watch TV while commuting, with Doctor Who and The Office most popular shows February 11, 2016 Our daily commutes are taking up a steadily growing chunk of our time, so it’s no surprise that we’re always on the hunt for new ways to keep ourselves entertained throughout rush hour. And it seems that checking Twitter, beating a high score 2048 or even something as retro as reading a newspaper is no [...]
Zurich Insurance Group share price plummets after posting s a “disappointing result” for 2015 and earlier Storm Frank warning February 11, 2016 Shares in Zurich Insurance Group dropped this morning after the company posted a "disappointing result" for its full-year ending December 2015. The insurer reported a business operating profit of $2.9bn (£2bn) for the year, down 37 per cent from $4.6bn the year before, and a net income attributable to shareholders of $1.8bn, down 53 per cent from [...]
Why bank share prices are falling: Liquidity levels are borderline economic recession – and the world is facing another funding crisis February 11, 2016 Global investors are rushing to ‘safe’ assets. Many government bond yields have turned negative and gold, so long out of fashion, is spurting higher. Financial markets are cyclical and typically suffer sell-offs every 8/9 years: 1966, 1974, 1981, 1990, 1998, 2007/08 and now 2015/16. Yet, there is a smell of panic across the trading floors [...]
EU referendum: Why Brexit is threatening Britain’s SME exporters February 11, 2016 As the economy gains momentum, the UK’s 4.9m SMEs are looking to capitalise on this growth, casting their net beyond our shores to fulfil their business growth ambitions through exporting. However, RSA’s recent study found that these businesses are hitting a BRIC wall; they have huge ambitions to access exporting opportunities in emerging and growth economies, [...]
Swedish interest rates: Riksbank cuts rates again in surprise move sending krona plunging February 11, 2016 One thing’s for sure: the Riksbank doesn’t do things by halves. The Swedish central bank just took its benchmark interest rate even further into negative territory than economists were expecting. The Riksbank announced this morning it would be cutting rates to minus 0.5 per cent, from the current minus 0.35 per cent. "Our repo rates [...]
Google UK tax row: If the Public Accounts Committee mistakenly equate Google’s profits to its sales when discussing corporate tax deals today, they’ll be heading down a blind alley February 11, 2016 When the Public Accounts Committee grills Google and HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) chiefs today, we may hear repetition of the claim that the technology giant is only paying a three per cent corporation tax rate compared to the 20 per cent everyone else pays. The MPs could do themselves a favour by not going down this blind [...]
Bye-bye Bogof? Supermarket deals days’ numbered as new research finds consumers spend £1,300 a year more when they take up buy-one, get-one-free offers February 11, 2016 British shoppers spend £1,300 more a year when they take up tantalising buy-one-get-one-free (bogof) deals – and could be soon waving goodbye to the whole concept. Research by the Money Advice Service has found that supermarket offers encourage consumers to spend 21 per cent more on average than they intended – £11.14 per shop – [...]
We’ve reached peak Twitter as user growth goes negative at former social media darling February 11, 2016 Haunted by quarters of slowing growth, Twitter’s worst nightmare became a reality yesterday. It’s not growing anymore. The company’s fourth quarter report revealed monthly active users (MAUs) dropped to 305m from 307m in the previous quarter. None of this should come as a shock, although it obviously did for many investors. The stock fell as much as [...]
Thomas Cook revenues dip on terror attacks – but says full year figures remain on course as long as consumer demand remains February 11, 2016 Revenues and bookings at Thomas Cook dropped in the last three months of 2015, in the wake of the terror attacks in Paris, Istanbul and Sharm-el-Sheikh, the tour operator said today. The figures Total revenue for the three months to 31 December fell 7.8 per cent to £1.4bn. The firm's underlying operating loss improved by 11 per [...]