Electra chairman Roger Yates resigns as Sherborne’s activist investor Edward Bramson voted onto the board by shareholders November 5, 2015 Sherborne's Edward Bramson has finally succeeded in his mission to join the board of private equity group Electra, after 53.5 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of his appointment as a director, 16.6m to 14.4m against. Chairman Roger Yates resigned from the from the board with immediate effect after the meeting. Sherborne's first move is to introduce "a strategic [...]
Bank of England lowers UK growth outlook to 2.7 per cent as MPC votes 8-1 to hold interest rates November 5, 2015 The Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC) lowered their UK growth outlook to 2.7 per cent from 2.8 per cent today, as its more hawkish members failed to be convinced of the merits of a rate rise. Although some economists had expected Kristin Forbes or Martin Weale to join the ayes, Ian McCafferty was left alone voting to [...]
ECB president Mario Draghi says quantitative easing has been “undoubtedly effective” November 5, 2015 European Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi has shed a positive light on the success of the central bank's quantitative easing programme to date. During a speech in Milan today, he said the security-purchase scheme implemented so far was “undoubtedly effective”. Launched earlier this year, the programme involves the purchase of government securities from Eurozone member states. [...]
Bank of England interest rates: Why the MPC must raise the UK’s interest rates, instead of continuing to twiddle their thumbs November 5, 2015 Today, to the surprise of no one, the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) left interest rates at their current level of 0.5 per cent, its view justified by headline inflation that is, to all intent and purpose, zero per cent. This may appear sensible on the face of it – after all, why should [...]
Police arrest protesters against Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al Sisi outside Downing Street November 5, 2015 Metropolitan Police have arrested five demonstrators outside Downing Street, who were protesting against the arrival of Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al Sisi. Protestors were up in arms that al Sisi – who has been denounced by many including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as a "coup leader" who overthrew a democratically elected president – was receiving [...]
More than 29,000 cups of tea, 94 sick days and three workplace bust-ups: Here’s how your career adds up November 5, 2015 Ever stopped to consider how many cups of tea you'll drink at the office during your working life? What about how many fights you'll have with colleagues, clients or bosses? Nope – us neither. But the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) has nonetheless answered all these questions – and more – about our working lives… [...]
Collins Word of the Year 2015: Binge-watch beats clean-eating, manspreading and dadbod November 5, 2015 If you decided to binge on box-sets rather than food this year, you might have inadvertently helped determine the Collins Word of the Year. Binge-watching has been named the word for 2015 after lexicographers saw a 200 per cent increase in its usage, which describes watching "a large number of television programmes (especially all the [...]
Google, Facebook, Twitter: Which tech companies are best at respecting your privacy? November 5, 2015 Worried about what companies like Google and Facebook are doing with all that personal data of yours they have? Google and Vodafone have come out top in a ranking revealing which tech and telecoms companies are best at respecting your digital rights, based on everything from the data they collect to where they sell it and [...]
UK new car registrations fall in October – as Volkswagen and Seat sales plummet November 5, 2015 The number of new cars registered in the UK fell by one per cent to 177,664 in October, figures by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed today. The biggest faller? Not surprisingly, brands owned by Volkswagen. Yep, according to the figures, VW sales were down 9.8 per cent, while sales of Seats [...]
London property prices: Here’s how many houses have sold for £1m in the last five years – and where is seeing the biggest growth November 5, 2015 Here's a million-dollar question for you: how many £1m-houses does London have, and which boroughs are seeing the fastest growth? Over the past decade, nearly 54,000 £1m (or more) homes have been sold – and Kensington & Chelsea accounts for more than 10,000 – almost a fifth of the total. But this borough appears to be slowing – perhaps as [...]