HMRC told to hurry up and produce “tangible results” by Treasury Committee chairman December 5, 2016 A Tory heavy-hitter said workers with life-threatening diseases could miss out on compensation pay-outs because of failings by the taxman and today urged authorities to speed up the process. Victims of occupational diseases can only claim compensation from employers once they have received a full record of their employment. However, tax records are a vital part [...]
From Italy and Brexit to Trump, don’t blame every electoral upset on “populism” December 5, 2016 In a world characterised by steadily decreasing attention spans and rampantly rising information onslaughts, the temptation to simplify just to keep on top of the newsflow is immense. The risk, of course, being that critical nuances are disregarded and inaccurate conclusions are drawn before being flung around on social media and becoming alleged “fact” in a [...]
Here’s what protesters outside the Supreme Court during the Article 50 hearing had to say December 5, 2016 The Supreme Court hearing on how the government will trigger Article 50 began today. Outside the building, a group of about 20 to 30 protesters gathered to speak out, dance an Irish jig or wave their Union Jacks. Standing out in support of Brexit meaning Brexit was Catherine Cook, who travelled down from Newcastle to show her anger with Parliament. Ticking the box and leaving [...]
Tottenham Court Road station has been closed due to a power failure December 5, 2016 Services on the Central and Northern Lines are disrupted this afternoon, after Tottenham Court Road was closed due to a power failure. https://twitter.com/centralline/status/805793171288498177 https://twitter.com/northernline/status/805793168256073730 Meanwhile, there are delays on the Circle Line due to an "absence of staff", according to Transport for London. https://twitter.com/circleline/status/805795047933353984 Elsewhere, the Piccadilly Line is still experiencing severe delays – which are [...]
Energy suppliers owe homeowners £1bn in overpaid gas and electricity bills December 5, 2016 Gas and electricity suppliers owe millions of UK homeowners £1bn in overpaid bills, according to research from GoCompare.com Energy. Two-thirds of homeowners have a positive balance on their energy bills and have overpaid by an average of £86.60 per person, though a quarter have a credit balance in excess of £100. Energy customers can build [...]
Uber’s created its very own lab for researching artificial intelligence December 5, 2016 Uber is getting deeper into the artificial intelligence game, creating a dedicated lab staffed with top researchers by acquiring a startup with expertise in the technology. The 15 staff of Geometric Intelligence will form the basis for the billion dollar startup’s San Francisco Lab, which will research the growing area of AI and machine learning [...]
Italian government bond yields jump as investors react to Matteo Renzi’s resignation after Italian referendum defeat December 5, 2016 Italian 10-year bond yields rose above two per cent on Monday as markets pushed down the country’s banks further in reaction to the larger than expected rejection of Matteo Renzi's constitutional reform in Sunday’s referendum. Yields, which move inversely to prices, had moved to 2.024 per cent in the early afternoon, a climb of more [...]
Sadiq Khan has promised to spend £770m on supporting London’s cyclists by 2020 December 5, 2016 London mayor Sadiq Khan has revealed plans for a huge investment in the capital's cycling infrastructure, totalling a mammoth £770m over five years. The plans represent an almost doubling of the spending by Khan's predecessor Boris Johnson, but critics have questioned how the mayor will fund the investment, and why it will not help to [...]
Too big to fail banks are a global affair, says Bank of England’s Sir Jon Cunliffe December 5, 2016 Handling too big to fail banks is a worldwide issue, particularly given the number of lenders which trade cross-border, a key Bank of England figure has said today. Writing for the European Economy online journal, Sir Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor for financial stability at the Bank, said international cooperation to create response plans for the failure of one of [...]
Unicredit to finalise terms with Amundi over €3.5bn deal to buy Pioneer December 5, 2016 French asset manager Amundi moved one step closer in its pursuit of Pioneer after entering into exclusive negotiations with its Italian parent Unicredit. The Italian lender is selling a number of its assets as part of a turnaround plan set to be unveiled on 13 December by new chief exec Jean-Pierre Mustier. Read more: UK asset manager pulls [...]