Shell’s chief executive Ben van Beurden’s pay package soared in 2016 March 9, 2017 Ben van Beurden, the boss of oil major Shell, received a total pay package increase of 60 per cent in 2016. Shell reported van Burden was paid €8.263m last year, up from €5.135m due to deferred bonuses and long-term incentive plans. Although his salary didn't change much, rising only 2.1 per cent to €1.46m, and his bonus fell to [...]
Nicola Sturgeon: Autumn 2018 is the “obvious” date for the next Scottish referendum March 9, 2017 The next Scottish independence referendum could take place as soon as autumn 2018, according to Scotland's first minister. In an interview with the BBC today, Nicola Sturgeon refused to rule out next autumn as a date for a new referendum. "Within the window of when… a deal becomes clear on the UK exiting the EU… [...]
Premier Oil reaches a milestone in refinancing talks and reveals a reduction in losses March 9, 2017 Premier Oil today revealed it has reached a "milestone" in completing its refinancing as it returned to post-tax profit. The figures For the year to the end of December, the British oil and gas explorer reported a loss before tax of $390.6m (£321.2m) after racking up a $829.6m loss the previous year. It returned to profit after [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond defends national insurance tax rises in Budget and insists no promises were broken March 9, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond has defended his decision to raise national insurance contributions in the Budget, despite a Conservative manifesto pledge not to increase any tax contributions. “There was a broad commitment to lock taxes so that there would be no tax increases and that is what we have done,” Hammond told the BBC. However, up [...]
Sandwich skills shortage? Pret a Manger boss Andrea Wareham is worried about filling jobs after Brexit March 9, 2017 Brexit may be putting your avocado habit under threat, after the HR boss of Pret a Manger admitted she will struggle to fill jobs if she is only allowed to hire British applicants. At a House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee hearing yesterday, Andrea Wareham said just one in 50 people applying for jobs at the [...]
John Lewis has slashed its staff bonus to six per cent March 9, 2017 The John Lewis Partnership has slashed its staff bonus in the face of an "uncertain market" in the year ahead. The bonus, one of the key perks for John Lewis employees (also known as partners), was cut to six per cent of salary, totalling £89.4m. Last year, the employees were given a 10 per cent bonus. In [...]
Q&A: How will Philip Hammond’s 2017 Budget affect your taxes? March 9, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered several blows to the self-employed yesterday, but they're not the only group impacted. Here, we've laid out all the ways in which the Budget will affect your tax affairs: NATIONAL INSURANCE What’s happening to National Insurance? National Insurance contributions (NICs) for self-employed workers will be hiked over the next two years, [...]
Sports Direct share price falls after unveiling plans for the UK’s first board worker rep March 9, 2017 Mike Ashley's Sports Direct said it was breaking new ground in good corporate governance after announcing it is kicking off the process to elect the UK's first board worker representative. All "directly-engaged workers" can put their names in the hat for the high-profile role and the firm will then conduct an extensive "assessment" process, before putting a selection of candidates forward [...]
Morrisons is feeling pretty chill about #Marmitegate, saying price rises will be “minimal” March 9, 2017 The chairman of Morrisons supermarket has reassured shoppers that he will be minimising any price rises on groceries following the Brexit vote. The price of a grocery basket became a source of controversy last year when Unilever demanded higher prices from supermarkets, but Tesco refused – leading to a stand-off that became known as #Marmitegate. But [...]
Morrisons (MRW) share price fell this morning after it reported strong profit and sales growth – here’s how City analysts have reacted March 9, 2017 Shares in Morrisons dipped by 4.6 per cent at the open, after the supermarket reported annual profit and sales growth for the first time in four years this morning. Turnover was up 1.2 per cent to £16.3bn, while profit before tax rose by 49.8 per cent, to £325m, signalling that chief executive David Potts' turnaround is [...]