UK to dodge spectre of secular stagnation as investment rises September 28, 2015 Britain is set to avoid falling into “secular stagnation” – low inflation and interest rates holding back investment in advanced economies – according to forecasting group the EY Item Club. The think tank has reported that business investment in the UK has performed relatively strongly since the economy emerged from recession at the end of [...]
EU referendum: Bosses speak out on European Union benefits September 28, 2015 Nearly two-thirds of directors say that the benefits of Britain remaining in the European Union outweigh the negatives, according to a new survey out today. The Institute of Directors (IoD) polled more than 1,200 of its members earlier this year, finding that 65 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement “from my organisation’s perspective, [...]
Lord Turner fires Corbyn-omics warning: Risks of Jeremy Corbyn’s People’s Quantitative Easing are huge September 28, 2015 City grandee Lord Turner has warned that the political risks associated with Jeremy Corbyn’s proposed “People’s Quantitative Easing” are huge. “The technical case for treating overt money finance as an available tool – if and when the conditions makes such stimulus appropriate – is incontrovertible,” Turner said in an interview published today. “But the political [...]
Banks at risk of legal action over the FCA’s new regulatory regime September 28, 2015 CITY lawyers are warning today that new regulations for top bank staff could spark an increase in the number of legal claims over firings. GQ Employment Law, a specialist employment law firm, says that the Senior Managers Regime, set to go into effect next March, may have unintended consequences. Under the new rules, senior managers [...]
Sepp Blatter must go now, says Tory MP’s group September 27, 2015 FIFA president Sepp Blatter should step down immediately in favour of an independent reform process, according to campaign groups NewFIFANow, Transparency International and the International Trade Union Confederation. The campaigners said the 79-year-old should step aside because he is part of a criminal investigation. “We know that the Fifa ethics committee serves at the pleasure [...]
Sports Direct gives up chase for posh fitness chain Soho Gyms September 27, 2015 Sports Direct has abandoned its bid for upmarket fitness centre chain Soho Gyms, according to reports. The retailer had held discussions with the gym company with the aim of reaching a deal that would extend its own gym business, Sports Direct Fitness, which launched in November last year. However, The Sunday Telegraph reported that the [...]
Guy Hands seeks out bidders for Odeon cinemas September 27, 2015 GUY Hands’ private equity firm Terra Firma is putting into motion the estimated £1bn sale of Odeon cinemas that was first touted in February. Chinese billionaire Wang Jianli’s leisure and property conglomerate Dalian Wanda, the world’s largest cinema operator, has already been sniffing around the sale, The Sunday Telegraph reported. Last year there was a [...]
UK wine-making industry enjoys sparkling good health and growth September 27, 2015 English wine-makers have enjoyed a vintage year, and are set to double in capacity and production over the next seven years. According to figures from the Wine and Spirit Trade Association released today, English vine-yards have grown, on average, 11 per cent a year over the last 10 years. There are currently 135 wineries producing [...]
CoolBrands 2015: Apple crowned the king of cool as Google slips September 27, 2015 Apple has retained pole position for the fourth year in a row in a ranking of companies' brand appeal, according to pollsters CoolBrands. Its tech rival Google, however, dropped out of the top 10 altogether, slipping to 12th from sixth in 2014. Despite an improving economy, luxury brands did not manage to maintain [...]
Tesla drives towards 2020 target of 500,000 cars with European factory September 27, 2015 TESLA, the electric car manufacturer, has opened a factory in the Netherlands to help boost European sales. The company announced on Twitter over the weekend it was opening the factory in Tilburg to assemble the Model S sedan and carry out final quality checks. The factory also boasts the first indoor production track in Europe. [...]