Markit PMI: UK services sector knocked in December by Living Wage fears and Brexit jitters January 6, 2016 Activity in the services sector fell slightly in December, new figures showed have shown, as businesses became increasingly nervous about the impact of the new National Living Wage and the outcome of the EU referendum. Figures by Markit showed the purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 55.5 in December – down from 55.9 in November, but above [...]
Watch: Base jumper leaps from skyscrapers around Canary Wharf in heart-stopping video January 6, 2016 If your stomach turns at the mere thought of any height taller than the top of the Tube escalator, look away now – a new video reveals a never-seen-before view of the capital from one of the City's iconic skylines . One man's brave but terrifying leap from a building next to Canary Wharf (with a parachute) reveals what it's [...]
Here’s what Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet looks like now after moves for Emily Thornberry, Maria Eagle and Emma Lewell Buck and sackings for Pat McFadden and Michael Dugher January 6, 2016 Dubbed the longest reshuffle in history by the Conservatives, after over 30 hours of talks, Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn finally unveiled his shadow cabinet late last night. And it's been fairly underwhelming, with very few changes at all. First thing's first: Hilary Benn kept his job as shadow foreign secretary amid speculation his position could be [...]
RMT ballots members over yet another Night Tube strike as Aslef ramps up the fighting talk January 6, 2016 Tube maintenance workers are to be balloted over potentially more strike action over the Night Tube and pay, after union representatives rejected the offer on the table. RMT said its reps had "overwhelmingly" dismissed the new deal, saying it mirrored proposals that had already been thrown out by workers on the rest of the Tube network. [...]
Angela Merkel’s Berlin office reopened after German police give all-clear over suspicious package January 6, 2016 German police have given the area around chancellor Angela Merkel's office the all-clear after a suspected suspicious package was found to be harmless. The area around the chancellery in Berlin was cordoned off for a couple of hours while police assessed the situation this morning. The object was found during a routine security check at the entrance to [...]
WPP subsidiary Grey Group buys South Korean digital agency Vinyl I-Co January 6, 2016 WPP subsidiary Grey Group has taken a majority stake in South Korean creative digital agency Vinyl I-Co for an undisclosed sum. The business, which was set up in 2000, incorporates new media technology in its design process and boasts clients including L'Oreal, Microsoft, Nike and Samsung. It employs 70 people and last year reported revenues of 12.8bn Korean [...]
Solid John Lewis Christmas trading not enough to nudge profit expectations up January 6, 2016 The John Lewis Partnership has reported a solid Christmas period, with sales across the group up 4.1 per cent for the six weeks to 2 January to £1.81bn – but it's not enough to shift the group's full year decline in profits. The figures The department store business was the strongest driver of growth, with sales up [...]
How young is too young to leave your kid alone online? Parents are leaving their four-year-olds to use the Internet unsupervised January 6, 2016 How young is too young to leave kids alone online? Younger than you might imagine, and falling fast, as it turns out. Until recently, most parents supervised their kids well into their tweens. Today, the average four-year-old is let loose unsupervised, according to research from price comparison site uSwitch. Parents with children aged one to [...]
North Korea announces fourth nuclear bomb test in 10 years – and Pyongyang claims it exploded ‘mini’ hydrogen device January 6, 2016 North Korea has reportedly tested a miniaturised hydrogen bomb, a move which will heighten tensions between the politically-isolated country and its neighbours, particularly Japan and South Korea. The nuclear test, its fourth since 2006, came to light after reports of a 5.1 magnitude earthquake near a nuclear testing site in the east Asian country. "The first H-bomb test was [...]