BBC chairman hits back at suggestions of Netflix-style subscription model November 20, 2019 Replacing the BBC’s licence fee with a Netflix-style subscription model would destroy its ability to serve everyone, the corporation’s chairman has said. Sir David Clementi urged advocates of a subscription service to be “realistic” and recognise that the broadcaster’s “principle of universality would be lost”. Read more: BBC signs on-demand deal with Sky as it [...]
Investors expect to take ‘10.3%’ a year from retirement savings November 20, 2019 | City Talk Investors believe they can make aggressive withdrawals from their retirement savings and not run out of money, according to the Schroders Global Investor Study 2019. Investors believe they will be able to withdraw, on average, 10.3 per cent a year from their retirement savings without running out of money, according to a new global study. [...]
Tossed owner Zest Food seeks rent cuts in restructuring plan November 20, 2019 Zest Food, the owner of healthy eating brand Tossed, is the latest casual dining chain to seek a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) restructuring plan. The company is asking landlords to agree to a combination of zero rent and rent reduction arrangements as part of the rescue plan. Read more: UK’s top restaurants swing to £93m [...]
Norwegian Air appoints new chief executive to lead it back to profit November 20, 2019 Norwegian Air has named Jacob Schram, a senior adviser at management consultant McKinsey, as its new chief executive. Schram, 57, takes up the mantle as the low-cost flyer struggles to soothe investors’ concerns about its finances. The Norwegian national will take over on 1 January. Read more: Norwegian Air cuts routes to US from Ireland [...]
Trump inquiry: There was ‘quid pro quo’ in Ukraine call, ambassador says November 20, 2019 President Donald Trump knew about requests to Ukraine for investigations into his rivals and understood there was a “quid pro quo”, a top US diplomat has said. Gordon Sondland, US ambassador to the EU, told an impeachment inquiry that he “followed the President’s orders” and those of his lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Read more: Asian stocks [...]
Eco Atlantic shares fall after heavy crude discovery November 20, 2019 Shares in oil and gas explorer Eco Atlantic fell over seven per cent today after the company confirmed it was evaluating the commercial prospects of its major oil discovery off Guyana. Read more: Tullow Oil shares plummet as Ghana fields run into problems The figures Despite the shareholder reaction, Eco was bullish in its first [...]
General Election 2019: Boris Johnson hints at plans to hike National Insurance threshold November 20, 2019 A Conservative government would put up the National Insurance threshold to £12,000 as part of plans to “cut tax for working people”, Boris Johnson said today. During an apparently unintended revelation as part of a question and answer session in a Teeside factor, the Prime Minister told reporters he would increase the rate at which [...]
Uber partly to blame for driverless car death, says US watchdog November 20, 2019 Uber’s safety policies have been deemed as partly to blame for the death of a woman last year, according to America’s safety watchdog. Elaine Herzberg was killed in Arizona last year, after she was hit by a driverless Uber car. Read more: Uber launches new safety measures in attempt to secure long-term London licence The [...]
Profit jumps as Babcock buoyed by marine division November 20, 2019 Defence giant Babcock has reported an increase in pre-tax profit for the first half in line with expectations, as a strong performance from its marine business offset weakness in its aviation division. The figures Babcock reported a 134 per cent increase in statutory pre-tax profit, which rose from £65.1m to £152m for the six months [...]
General Election 2019: Liberal Democrats pitch party as ‘natural home of business’ November 20, 2019 The Liberal Democrats are pitching themselves as the “natural home of business” with a slew of policies due to be unveiled in the party manifesto that it claims will bolster the UK’s economy. Warning of challenges including artificial intelligence, climate change and Brexit, the Lib Dems argue that the two main parties are backwards looking [...]