Downing Street eyes early September for Brexit showdown August 12, 2019 The UK government is eyeing early September as the next big Brexit showdown, with the EU expected to bide its time until British politicians have thrashed it out. The parliamentary battle is expected to take place on 9 September – a week after MPs return from their summer break, a senior government source said. MPs [...]
Royal London sales hit by DB transfer drop despite rise in profits August 12, 2019 Royal London, the UK’s largest mutual life insurer, has reported a drop in new business sales during the first half of the year. The pensions provider blamed an industry-wide reduction in defined benefit (DB) transfers today for a four per cent year-on-year fall in new business sales to £5.8bn for the first six months of [...]
Hitachi trials tech for ticket sensors via phone app August 12, 2019 Transport giant Hitachi has said ticket barriers could become a thing of the past as it trails new technology that could scan tickets via a smartphone app. The Japanese firm is currently developing and trialling technology that uses sensors on trains to detect tickets via an app on passengers’ mobile phones. Read more: Commuters braced [...]
Passengers told to avoid King’s Cross on Bank Holiday weekend August 12, 2019 Holidaymakers have been urged to check their bank holiday travel plans as engineering works means there will be disruption across London. There will be no trains in and out of King’s Cross, one of the capital’s busiest stations, on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 August. A reduced service will run on Monday 26 August, meaning [...]
Shares in M&C Saatchi plunge after it announces £6.4m charge following accounting errors August 12, 2019 Shares in M&C Saatchi fell more than 20 per cent this morning after it announced a £6.4m charge after discovering accounting errors. The advertising agency network said that following an internal accounting review it had set aside £4.9m related to specific issues identified within its accounts and £1.5m “as a conservative measure to provide for [...]
Financial Conduct Authority looking into Muddy Waters short attack on Burford Capital August 12, 2019 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said it is making “wide-ranging enquiries” into the circumstances surrounding the publication of a shortselling report on Burford Capital by Muddy Waters. US shortseller Muddy Waters launched a short attack on the litigation finance company last week, tweeting that it would shortly be announcing a new short position before [...]
Lib Dem mayoral hopeful Siobhan Benita: ‘We can win this’ August 12, 2019 Siobhan Benita, the Liberal Democrats’ London mayoral hopeful, arrives for our interview just two days before the crucial Brecon and Radnorshire MP by-election, where the pollsters’ predictions of a Lib Dem win proved to be right on the money: the party took just over 43 per cent of the vote, overturning a Tory majority and [...]
Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital buys influencer agency IMA August 12, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s advertising company S4 Capital has bought IMA, Europe’s largest influencer marketing company, for €10m (£9.3m) and will merge it with its existing content arm, Mediamonks. Amsterdam-based IMA, which was founded in 2010, selects influencers to create tailored online marketing campaigns for brands including Microsoft, Heineken, and Samsonite. Sorrell founded S4 Capital last [...]
Shares rise as Tullow Oil sees great start to Guyana drilling campaign August 12, 2019 Tullow Oil today hailed an “excellent start” to a South American drilling campaign as the company made a major discovery off the coast of Guyana. The discovery shows that the Jethro-1 well will likely hold over 100m barrels of oil, chief executive PaulMcDade said. The discovery is ahead of expectations. Read more: Tullow facing delays [...]
Time running out for Remainer MPs to stop no deal Brexit: IfG August 12, 2019 There is little chance of Remainer MPs blocking a no-deal Brexit before the Halloween deadline, a new report has found. With parliament still on summer recess, there will be less than two months for politicians to thwart Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s plan to leave the EU “do or die” by 31 October. A new paper [...]