There is a financial services-shaped hole in the government’s economic strategy November 24, 2016 Oscar Wilde famously wrote that “there is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.” For anyone who works in the City, that seems a particularly pertinent quote right now. For Wednesday’s Autumn Statement – one of the biggest events in the economic policy calendar – [...]
Frosty relations: Iceland vs Iceland legal action has been filed November 24, 2016 Iceland, the country, has today confirmed it is taking legal action against Iceland, the supermarket. The Icelandic government, along with SA Business Iceland and Promote Iceland, has said it is taking the action so its own producers can use the word 'Iceland' when advertising their own food products. The country argues the retailer cold-heartedly pursued businesses [...]
Ryanair ditches travel search engine Momondo after breach of contract November 24, 2016 Ryanair has revoked a licencing agreement with travel search engine Momondo following a breach of contract. The company "urged customers to book directly on the Ryanair.com website". It had previously granted a non-exclusive licence to Momondo to display Ryanair's fares for price comparison purposes, one of a number of travel websites including Hipmunk, Dohop and Skyscanner [...]
The Airbus rival to the Boeing 777 just had its maiden flight November 24, 2016 Airbus' new jewel in its crown and rival to Boeing's well-known 777, the Airbus A350-1000, took to the skies for its maiden flight today. Europe's largest twin-engined passenger jet took off this morning at Blagnac in Toulouse France (at 10.42am local time just in case you were wondering). Equipped with specially developed Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 [...]
Here’s what Skyscanner’s biggest shareholder had to say about £1.4bn sale November 24, 2016 The biggest shareholder in unicorn tech startup Skyscanner, snapped up by Chinese firm Ctrip for £1.4bn, has told City A.M. the deal is a good one for the UK's tech industry, just a day after chancellor Philip Hammond announced measures to counter the trend of the UK's brightest companies selling rather than scaling up. "This is [...]
Sky is having a Black Friday sale and it includes a free TV, laptop or Xbox One November 24, 2016 Black Friday might be a US thing, but that doesn't mean some of the biggest British brands aren't getting involved. And many of them aren't even retailers. Step forward, Sky, which has launched its own Black Friday shop, with deals on TV bundles and broadband. And you could end up with a free TV. The [...]
The DfT lends Network Rail millions every day. But it’s ok, the rail network is going to last for longer… November 24, 2016 Over £9m of public money is being lent every day to the company that runs Britain's ageing rail infrastructure. Network Rail drew down £1.6bn from a department for transport (DfT) facility over the last six months according to the company's – or non-departmental government body's – half-year accounts. This was on top of the £1.9bn of grant [...]
#SorryNotSorry : Read Night Tsar Amy Lame’s “gritted teeth” apology November 24, 2016 London's new night tsar Amy Lame has risked a fresh backlash by issuing a half-hearted apology to Tory councillors over her controversial comments on social media. Questions have been raised over Lame's appointment by her use of Twitter to brand Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson “scum”, celebrate the death of Margaret Thatcher and fantasise about “bitch-slapping” David [...]
Last surviving WWI submarine hunter looks doomed for scrap after failing to secure Autumn Statement funding November 24, 2016 The HMS President's fate is looking uncertain, after a bid for Libor funding was turned down in Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement. Now she faces the prospect of being scrapped in the coming weeks. A parliamentary motion was submitted in an effort to signpost its value as a heritage site as one of the UK's last three [...]