UK spending rules should focus on investments rather than debt, economists say October 29, 2019 The UK needs new rules on taxing and spending in order to adequately tackle the major economic challenges the country looks set to face over the next decade, a new report has said. Read more: Hey, big spender: IFS boss Paul Johnson on the end of economic orthodoxy Rather than simply focusing on public debt [...]
Consumers choose challenger banks due to poor service on high street October 29, 2019 Poor customer service at high street banks is causing consumers to turn to challengers such as Monzo in droves, a new report has found. Read more: Monzo smashes past £2bn valuation in fresh funding round Customers are particularly peeved about the difficulty of mortgage applications and the resolution of problems, according to the report from [...]
Government backs MPs’ criticism of workplace ‘cover-up culture’ via non-disclosure agreements October 29, 2019 The practice of using non-disclosure agreements to cover up mistreatment at work has come a step closer to being abolished. The government has thrown its weight behind a parliamentary report which was highly critical of the practice, in which NDAs are routinely used by companies to cover up unlawful discrimination and sexual harassment at work. [...]
British film board rolls out new age ratings for Netflix films and TV shows October 29, 2019 The UK film regulator will this week roll out a series of new age rating symbols designed for online streaming platforms. The digital classification symbols, which will launch on Netflix from Thursday, are designed to help young people make more conscious choices about what they watch online. Read more: Netflix to set its own age [...]
Ad spend growth continues thanks to streaming and cinema boom October 29, 2019 Advertising spend hit £6bn in the second quarter as booming demand for films and TV shows helped drive sharp growth in the video on-demand and cinema sectors. UK ad spend grew 5.8 per cent year on year in the three months to the end of July, although the £6bn figure remained flat on the first [...]
Government faces calls for reform as data shows dominance of Big Four audit firms October 29, 2019 Data published yesterday by the audit watchdog showed that the Big Four accounting firms increased their market share of the UK audit market in 2018. The lack of competition in the sector has come under the microscope following scandals such as the failures of outsourcer Carillion and department store BHS which both received clean bills [...]
PM Boris Johnson goes fourth – with pre-Brexit date sewn into election October 28, 2019 The Prime Minister will today seek an election for the fourth time in two months – this time with a pre-Brexit date sewn in. Yesterday the EU finally granted a three-month extension to the Brexit process, pushing back the deadline until 31 January, or earlier if a deal is signed off by parliament in time. [...]
Shop Direct could fail unless £150m is found, auditor warns October 28, 2019 Shop Direct, the UK retail group owned by the Barclay brothers, could collapse unless it finds £150m to cover the costs of payment protection insurance (PPI) compensation, its auditor has warned. Read more: Media veteran David Montgomery weighing up Telegraph bid The Littlewoods.com and Very.co.uk owner last week revealed it had seen higher-than-expected demand for [...]
Media veteran David Montgomery weighing up Telegraph bid October 28, 2019 Press executive and former News of the World editor David Mongtomery has expressed an interest to the owners of the Telegraph about buying the ailing newspaper business, which is reportedly up for sale. Read more: ‘Structural decline’: Telegraph group suffers profit slump Montgomery is also a former chief executive of the Mirror Group. He last [...]
Alphabet shares dip as profit fails to meet expectations October 28, 2019 Google parent Alphabet missed Wall Street estimates on its third-quarter results tonight, having failed to live up to expectations on profit takings. Alphabet reported earnings per share of $10.12 for the three months to the end of September and net income of $7.07bn, versus expectations of $12.44 per share according to consensus estimates polled by Refinitiv. [...]