Pilot strikes hits British Airways owner IAG’s profits October 31, 2019 Pilot strikes and fuel costs have dented third quarter profit for British Airways’ owner in line with its September profit warning. International Airlines Group (IAG) posted a third quarter operating profit of €1.42bn (£1.22bn), representing a 7.7 per cent decline from the corresponding period last year. Read more: IAG issues profit warning after British Airways [...]
Lloyds Banking Group profit slumps 97 per cent after £1.8bn PPI hit October 31, 2019 Lloyds Banking Group narrowly avoided tipping into the red this morning after taking a major third-quarter dent from the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). The lender’s pre-tax profits were reduced to £50m, falling 97 per cent from the same period last year after setting aside £1.8bn for PPI provisions. Read more: UK banking sector [...]
Is your house killing you? Why some people think paint, carpets and furniture could be poisonous October 31, 2019 Think back to the last time you redecorated a room. Did you paint a wall? Lay a new carpet? Buy a shelving unit with a Swedish-sounding name? According to some housebuilders, architects and designers, all of these things could be making you ill. They say that many common types of paint, carpets, flooring, kitchen and [...]
DEBATE: Is Labour set to outperform its 2017 result in this election? October 31, 2019 Is Labour set to outperform its 2017 result in this election? YES, says James Meadway, an economist and former adviser to John McDonnell A solid guide to forecasting British politics is to look at whatever the Westminster consensus thinks, and assume the opposite. The pundits got Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership victory wrong, they got the referendum [...]
This may be the ideal time for a debate on a written constitution October 31, 2019 Recent events in parliament have led many people to ask whether this country needs a proper – or at least written – constitution. This suggests that we do not possess either of these things already. This is to some degree misguided, as significant parts of our constitution are already written and enshrined in legislation, all [...]
Tax cuts could do for our economy today what the Reformation did 502 years ago October 31, 2019 On this day in 1517, German monk Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the door of All Saints’ church in Wittenberg. In so doing, Luther set in motion a series of events which would have a dramatic impact on the political landscape of Europe, transform the economy, and alter the lives of ordinary people [...]
It’s Halloween: Beware the horror of an inescapable Brexit deadline October 31, 2019 By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes. And, though it may not be the devilry and delight of a Halloween Brexit, the new horror of an Advent election should fill us all with dread. Of the many spooky things in this world, the deadline is perhaps the most tense, highly-strung genre [...]
Can Boris Johnson magic the most important rabbit of all from out of his hat? October 31, 2019 Dynamo and Derren Brown had better watch out, for there is a new challenger looking to break through and compete for the title of Britain’s finest practitioner of magical arts: Boris Johnson. For his first act, our putative contender conjured up a Brexit deal with the EU that had previously been described as impossible to [...]
Dataminr is helping to save local journalism October 31, 2019 Journalism is in a tough spot. For decades, money and jobs in the industry have been in decline. The government’s Cairncross review, released last year, revealed the scope of the problem. It found that total press industry revenues had declined by more than half over the previous 10 years, and that the number of full-time [...]
Treasury committee urges reform of ‘broken’ business rates system October 31, 2019 Calls for the government to rethink its business rates system are being made in the run-up to the general election, with politicians and businesses urging reform amid mounting pressure on Britain’s high streets. An influential group of MPs has asked the government to examine alternatives to the controversial property tax, which generated more than £30bn [...]