The Beatles’ John Lennon’s school detention slip up for sale September 24, 2015 There’s a divide amongst the City’s better known CEOs. First there’s the Cambridge mafia; those with old school ties, spotless school records and fine art collections. Then, of course, there’s the boys-done-good, who left school at 16 and worked their way up from the bottom. While you’re more likely to find the City’s university alumni [...]
Government’s public land sell-off needs transparency says Labour MP Meg Hillier September 24, 2015 Members of the influential public accounts committee have slammed the government’s land disposal policies, saying that ministers should be “embarrassed” by the backbenchers’ findings. Meg Hillier, the MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch who recently took the reins of the public spending watchdog from Barking MP Margaret Hodge, said today that the government’s “entire approach has been [...]
Oil prices: UK supermarkets Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s in petrol price war as they match crude oil price decline September 24, 2015 The UK’s supermarkets kicked off yet another price war yesterday, with Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s all slashing petrol prices by up to 2p per litre (ppl). Morrisons, which has 336 petrol stations in the UK, announced that it was making its third petrol price cut in four weeks. “The falling wholesale price of [...]
New data reveals much narrower gender pay gap for graduates September 24, 2015 The gender pay gap for graduates is less than previously believed, research from an influential think tank published today shows. After crunching numbers from extensive student loan records, researchers from the Institute for Fiscal Studies found that women earn 23 per cent less than men 10 years after graduation, down from 33 per cent [...]
National living wage to hit convenience stores including Tesco, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s September 24, 2015 Convenience retailers warned today that they may have to reduce staff hours or cut jobs entirely to fund George Osborne’s national living wage of £9 for over-25s by 2020. Britain’s convenience sector employs around 407,000 staff and consists of around 50,000 stores – of which fewer than 2,500 are run by Tesco, Morrisons and [...]
PPI mis-selling claims deadline: Britain’s biggest banking scandal could soon be coming to an end September 24, 2015 The end of the £25bn payment protection insurance (PPI) mis-selling scandal could be in sight, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) set to meet today to discuss potentially imposing a deadline for claims. The regulator’s management will discuss the possibility of a ‘time-bar exercise’ during a board meeting today, according to Sky News. Banks will [...]
Women are more likely than men to see the downsides of getting promoted September 23, 2015 Men and women both see progressing to high-level positions as equally achieving, but women are more likely to anticipate negative outcomes such as goal conflict and tradeoffs according to a recent study. The study started with a single hypothesis: men and women view professional advancement differently, and this affects whether they decide to strive for promotions. [...]
HS2 bidding: Osborne urges Chinese firms to bid on High Speed rail 2 partner deals worth £11.8bn September 23, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is firing the starting gun on the government’s High Speed 2 (HS2) rail project today by inviting companies to bid on at least seven new contracts worth £11.8bn. The chancellor will announce the bidding process for phase one of the HS2 project at an event in Chengdu, China today. A Treasury spokesperson [...]
UK housing crisis: Surveyors say older households key to tackling homes shortage September 23, 2015 Incentivising older homeowners to move into smaller properties or retirement homes could help free up almost three million family homes, a report today claimed. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors has published a policy review today setting out a number of recommendations on how the government could do more to tackle the UK’s housing crisis. [...]
China fears and EU vote could derail plans to raise interest rates in 2016 September 23, 2015 The first UK interest rate hike could be delayed be until 2017 due to the uncertainty created by an in-out referendum on Britain’s EU membership, economists have said. Investment bank Citi yesterday said it was slashing its global growth rate forecasts and shifted its prediction for the first Bank of England rate hike to final [...]