Charlotte Hogg has apologised for not disclosing her brother’s position at Barclays March 7, 2017 The Bank of England's (BoE) new deputy governor, Charlotte Hogg, has apologised for failing to disclose that her brother worked for Barclays, a potential conflict of interest, before she joined the central bank. Hogg worked as the BoE's chief operating officer from July 2013. Last week, as she started her new role as deputy governor, the Treasury Select Committee questioned her on why she [...]
Big upward revision for UK growth this year from the OECD March 7, 2017 The UK economy will grow much faster this year than previously expected, according to an influential economics organisation, as it revised up forecasts it slashed after the Brexit vote. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) raised its projections for 2017 GDP growth to 1.6 per cent, a change of 0.6 percentage points since [...]
Southern rail says the RMT’s strikes are becoming less effective ahead of next week’s 24-hour walkout March 7, 2017 Southern rail has pledged to run the majority of its services during the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union's next strike on Monday 13 March. The train operator says industrial action is proving less effective and that during the last strike on 22 February, Southern ran 87 per cent of trains with more than 50 per [...]
Ranked: House price growth in every London borough this year March 7, 2017 House price growth across the UK has nearly halved over the past 11 months, and a lot of that sluggish growth is coming from the capital. Tax changes have hit the property market in many of the capital's central districts, such as Chelsea and Fulham, but there is still growth in the more affordable parts of [...]
London’s black cab industry needs a regulatory overhaul to compete with the likes of Uber, say academics March 7, 2017 It's no secret that Uber's rise and its impact on the capital's transport network hasn't gone down well with many black cab drivers. Now a study by the University of the West of England and the University of Greenwich has suggested the capital's black cab industry needs a complete regulatory overhaul to compete with the ride-hailing app and other [...]
Foreign takeovers in the UK hit record levels last year as Megabrew and BG-Shell deals completed March 7, 2017 Foreign takeovers of British companies reached record levels last year as mega-deals announced during 2015 were tied up. In 2016, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) tracked 227 foreign takeovers, the highest annual number since 2011, worth £187.4bn, the highest total value since records began in 1969. These figures were boosted by AB InBev’s £79bn [...]
Former Tory leader William Hague is calling for an early general election – and Theresa May says no March 7, 2017 Surprise, surprise: Downing Street has shot down attempts by former Conservative leader Lord Hague to persuade Theresa May to call a snap general election. A Downing Street source said May had been "clear and consistent in her position: she doesn't think there should be one". Writing in the Daily Telegraph, William Hague said the move “would strengthen [...]
E.On hikes dual fuel energy prices by £97 – and the government says it’s “prepared to act” March 7, 2017 E.On is hiking its energy prices because of increasing costs to social and environmental schemes – and ministers have responded with a word of warning to the industry. The Germany-based company said prices for dual fuel customers will rise 8.8 per cent from 26 April, affecting 62 per cent of customers, or 2.5m people. "Wherever markets are not [...]
Saudi Aramco is set to pay Shell $2.2bn to finalise the break up of a US joint venture March 7, 2017 Saudi Aramco will pay Shell $2.2bn (£1.8bn) to finalise the split of a refining joint venture between the two firms. After the split, the Saudi oil giant's refining unit will wholly own Motiva Enterprises as well as the Port Arthur, Texas refinery – the largest in the US, which produces 600,000 barrels per day – and 24 distribution [...]
Now you can use Apple Pay in Ireland – just swipe your iPhone March 7, 2017 iPhone owners in Ireland rejoice – you can now get on board with Apple Pay and just swipe your phone (or Apple Watch) to make a purchase. The tech giant has launched the payment service in its sixth market in Europe, supporting Irish banking customers with Ulster Bank and KBC as well as Boon, an app [...]