Scottish independence: Low oil prices would have been of benefit to an independent Scotland September 17, 2015 On 18 September 2014 Scottish voters threw away the opportunity to take control of their own destiny by rejecting the idea of breaking away from the overpowering influence of Westminster. The reasons for the "no" vote are many and varied. But fear was high on the list of factors as many pensioners were consistently reminded [...]
Most expensive cities in the world: Londoners work longer than people in New York, Los Angeles, Luxembourg and Geneva to buy an iPhone 6 (and a Big Mac) September 17, 2015 We all know that London life can be expensive, not least when you factor in the cost of housing, but it turns out we have to slog it out at work to afford that most prevalent possession: our iPhones. Londoners have to work an average of 41.2 hours to be able to buy an iPhone [...]
Happy first birthday: Contactless cards have been on the Tube for a year September 17, 2015 They may account for 20 per cent of all pay-as-you-go journeys now, but contactless payments on the Tube were introduced just one year ago today. Over 180 million journeys have been made with contactless cards, more than 625,000 a day. A whopping one in seven of all contactless card payments in the UK are made [...]
Scottish independence: A yes vote would have plunged Scotland into a deep depression September 17, 2015 The first anniversary of the Scottish referendum on independence seems a useful point at which to take stock of the economic issues that would be facing an independent Scotland if it had voted ‘Yes’ in the referendum. There were two key strands to the Scottish National Party’s economic strategy which indicate that a Yes vote [...]
Just Retirement boss Rodney Cook hails “resilient” performance in post-pension freedom market September 17, 2015 Insurer Just Retirement showed the effects of George Osborne's pension reforms yesterday, with total retirement sales down 9.9 per cent in the year to 30 June. Sales of retirement products dropped to £1.15bn from £1.27bn in what the company described as “a largely pre-Budget comparative period”. However, shares in the firm were up by 1.69 [...]
Kier Group shares dip as group announces reduced dividend despite growing revenue and profits September 17, 2015 Kier Group's share price dropped this morning after the group announced a reduced dividend per share in its results for the year. Shares were down by 4.4 per cent in early trading, however Kier boss Haydn Mursell said he expected the price to do well throughout the rest of the day. Kier's proposed full year [...]
Jeremy Corbyn: Leadership lessons from Corbyn’s first five days September 17, 2015 The first few days are rarely simple for a new leader. If you’re appointed chief executive to turn around an ailing company, your ideas may be met with a hostile reception. A Labour MP for more than 30 years, the party’s new leader Jeremy Corbyn is hardly an external appointment. But he is [...]
Children’s rights and business: The quality of corporate reporting on child abuse is key to tackling it – ACCA Comment September 17, 2015 In the twenty-first century, businesses have come to depend on the value of their brand more than they ever have in history. In March this year, Ocean Tomo released the 2015 update to its annual study of intangible asset market value, which revealed that intangible assets grew to represent an average of 84 per cent [...]
Best of the Brokers for 17 September 2015 September 17, 2015 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com ASOS Berenberg reiterated its “buy” rating on the online retailer, and reduced its target price from 4,700p to 4,100p. The broker said that while currency headwinds are a near-term concern, a strong pound is factored into management guidance, and “the increasing utilisation of [...]
SABMiller sale talk brews one-week high for blue-chip – London Report September 17, 2015 Britain’s top share index climbed to a one-week high yesterday, with SABMiller surging about 20 per cent after news that AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer, was to make an offer to acquire the UK firm, the world’s second largest. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index finished 1.5 per cent stronger at 6,229.21 points. Earlier in [...]