More than 150,000 people have signed a petition to block a second Scottish independence vote March 16, 2017 MPs are to consider a debate on a second Scottish independence referendum after 150,000 people signed a petition calling for the vote to be stopped. All petitions gaining more than 100,000 signatures have to be considered for a debate, and parliament's petitions committee will on Tuesday afternoon decide whether to schedule a debate. Holding a debate [...]
Abta cyber attack: Travel trade group targeted March 16, 2017 Abta, the travel trade organisation has been hit by a cyber attack resulting in the information of thousands of people and hundreds of companies being stolen. The organisation revealed the breach happened at the end of February, with cyber attackers taking the information of 43,000 individuals and 650 Abta members. 1,000 of the files are thought to [...]
UK tech workers are quite unhappy, it turns out March 16, 2017 Tech workers in the UK are less likely to be working in their dream job or believe they can land it in future, and are twice as likely to hate their job than the rest of the world. New research reveals they are rather unhappy, at least compared to those in the US and Australia…. perhaps it's [...]
Why are megacities on the rise and why should you care? March 16, 2017 | City Talk Hear that? That's the sound of mental cogs grinding; business owners poring over Google, deciding where to put a pin in the map to grow their operations. The decision is not always as blind as pinning a tail on the proverbial donkey. If you produce Champagne or coffee, for example, you have the sense and scents to know where to set-up [...]
Digital challenger Starling Bank is launching in beta March 16, 2017 A digital challenger bank founded by a former banker is a step closer to launch today. Starling bank's current account will now be available for anyone who wants to sign up to its beta testing programme. “Our vision at Starling is to give everyone in the world the opportunity to enjoy a healthy financial life. [...]
Four things to watch out for from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting March 16, 2017 The Bank of England is set to announce monetary policy at its latest meeting this afternoon. Investors don’t expect anything in the way of change, but as always economists will try to read the runes of the Monetary Policy Committee’s (MPC) statement to see how the Bank’s economists think the UK economy is faring. Read [...]
Tories electoral commission fine: The official responses from the Conservative party and Ukip March 16, 2017 The Electoral Commission announced this morning that it has fined the Tories £70,000 over missing and unreported payments The sanction relates to the Conservative party's campaign spending ahead of the 2015 General Election. The commission opened an investigation last February, after the Kent Police decided not to pursue an investigation into allegations regarding the Conservative [...]
Sainsbury’s share price dips after it warns of “uncertain” inflation impact and “competitive” conditions as retail sales decline March 16, 2017 Sainsbury’s reported retail sales excluding fuel fell in the last quarter and said it faced an “uncertain” impact from rising costs and warned the market environment remains competitive. Shares in Sainsbury's dipped as markets opened to lows of 263p, but recovered some of their gains to a loss of around one per cent at the [...]
Toyota gives the UK a vote of confidence as it plugs £240m investment into its Burnaston plant with government support March 16, 2017 Toyota has signalled it is committed to manufacturing in Britain after announcing today it is plugging £240m into its UK operations in a bid to improve its Burnaston plant's competitiveness. The Japanese car firm said the investment into its plant near Derby will enable production of vehicles using its new global manufacturing system and promote UK [...]
Wetherspoon’s Tim Martin: Government tax policy is hitting the pub sector and forcing people to drink at home March 16, 2017 Wetherspoon's boss Tim Martin has issued a call to arms to pubs and restaurants in an attempt to convince the government to slash "unfair" taxes levied on the sector. The pub chain founder said tax policy is not only harming the pub sector, it is also forcing poorer people to drink at home as alcohol can [...]