Black Friday 2015 UK: Retailers must ensure their employees do not take all the best deals ahead of other consumers to “resale” items at a profit November 16, 2015 Black Friday is almost upon us and with such a buying frenzy, retailers and consumers should have their eyes open to the risk of fraud. Consumers face the risk of bogus websites and online scams; and retailers are also exposed to increased risk, from amongst their own ranks. A significant amount of retail fraud comes [...]
Standard & Poor’s: Abrupt climate change could challenge insurance industry November 16, 2015 Insurers could be underestimating how climate change will affect their business, according to a study released today by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. Miroslav Petkov, director, insurance ratings at Standard & Poor’s, said: “Our analysis indicates that insurers' capital management will be sufficient to manage the additional strain of a reduction of about 0.5 per [...]
Paris attacks: France is at war and will intensify attacks in Syria with the EU, US and Russia, French President Francois Hollande tells parliament November 16, 2015 French President Francois Hollande has told the country's parliament that France "is at war", as he laid out his intentions to coordinate with the EU, US and Russia to raise their assault on the Islamic State (Daesh). In one of the most important speeches of his career he said "the need destroy Daesh concerns the whole international community" and [...]
Retiring baby boomers creating skills gap headache for more than three-quarters of employers November 16, 2015 More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of finance directors are worried that their business will struggle with skills gaps over the next five years as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age. Research released today by recruitment consultancy Robert Half found that, of the more than 200 senior finance executives surveyed, 88 per cent were [...]
Paris attacks 2015: US markets open marginally higher November 16, 2015 US stock markets traded mostly higher on opening on Monday, helped by oil prices, following on from terror attacks in Paris on Friday that had caused Asian and European markets to fall on opening. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was 0.26 per cent up at 17,290 points as markets opened, while the S&P 500 was 0.32 per cent [...]
Barclays: It’s a great time to start a business in the UK November 16, 2015 It’s a great time to start a business in the UK, according to research published by Barclays today. Start-up survival rates are at their highest since Barclay’s began their in-depth Entrepreneurs Index in 2012 while the number of active companies in the UK increased to 3,260,879 in June 2015 – a 3.86 per cent climb on [...]
Smartphone battery life: Huawei creates phone battery which charges in just two minutes November 16, 2015 No longer will you have to suffer the pain of your phone battery running out and hanging around while it charges when you have places to go and people to see. Researchers at Huawei have created new fast charging batteries which can juice-up your phone in the time it takes to make a coffee, powering up to 68 per cent charge [...]
Paris attacks: Oil prices climb nearly two per cent on Middle East uncertainty November 16, 2015 Oil prices edged up today with analysts attributing the climb to greater uncertainty in the Middle East as a result of the Paris Attacks and the French strikes on Isis targets in Syria. Brent crude – the North Sea benchmark – climbed 1.1 per cent, just creeping past $45 a barrel. The US benchmark, West Texas [...]
Paris attacks: Minute’s silence falls across Europe to remember terror victims November 16, 2015 People fell silent across Europe in remembrance of the victims of Friday's terrorist attack in Paris which left 129 people dead and scores more injured. The minute's silence was observed in the UK at 11am and across the rest of the continent. (L-R) French higher education and research minister Thierry Mandon, education minister Najat Vallaud, President Francois Hollande, and prime minister [...]
Paris attacks: Jeremy Corbyn says French air strikes in Syria will “probably not” make a difference November 16, 2015 The renewed air strikes by France in Syria in the aftermath of Friday's tragic attacks in Paris will "probably not" make a difference, according to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn. While condemning the "appalling" attacks, Corbyn said a political settlement must be reached in Syria in order to overcome the Islamic State, and that bombings will bring no [...]