Unite to begin balloting Gatwick staff on strike action over closure of pensions scheme October 20, 2016 Unite has announced it will begin balloting 1,800 members for strike action next Friday over the closure of Gatwick’s final salary pension scheme. Surface transport workers, firefighters and security officers are to be balloted, following a 96 per cent vote in favour of doing so in a recent consultative ballot. It will close on 16 [...]
Politics of Brexit at odds with banks’ business needs, banking conference told October 20, 2016 The politics of Brexit is doing little to help banks keep calm and carry on, several key figures have said today. Speaking at the British Bankers' Association's (BBA) International Banking Conference, Lord Mandelson, Labour politician and now chairman at advisory group Global Counsel, remarked that banks need some sort of certainty on what government was planning for [...]
John Lewis opens flagship store in Leeds October 20, 2016 John Lewis has opened a flagship store in Leeds that it says will focus on providing customers with experiences, rather than just goods. The £37m store at the Victoria Gate Development in Leeds has created 550 jobs for the area. Read more: John Lewis warns on job losses due to its commitment to staff pay [...]
IronRidge Resources’ share price jumps 11 per cent on Ghana lithium licence October 20, 2016 Shares in Aim-listed mineral exploration company IronRidge Resources rose 11 per cent today after the group announced it has secured a "highly prospective" lithium licence in Ghana. The 76 square km licence is adjacent to the company's existing lithium project portfolio, located within 100km of the capital city Accra. The licence has excellent infrastructure, logistics and services support [...]
How technophobe wealth managers risk being left behind by rivals October 20, 2016 Technophobe wealth managers have been told to get with the times or face being left behind by rivals, a new report out today warns. Groups including Brewin Dolphin, Munnypot, Nucleus, SEI and Sesame Bankhall Group contributed to the MRM report, which warns that firms could lose assets and customers by not investing in digital. Read [...]
Subscriber slump sends Verizon’s share price south October 20, 2016 Shares in US carrier Verizon have slumped after the company announced it had fallen far short of expected new subscribers. The miss adds to fears the mobile phone market is beginning to stagnate, with fewer consumers interested in incremental smartphone model upgrades. Shares in the company opened down over two per cent in New York. [...]
Amazon’s £49 virtual assistant launches in the UK today: The Amazon Echo Dot October 20, 2016 Amazon has announced that the all-new Echo Dot launches in the UK today. Whereas the larger Echo device has its own speaker, the puck-sized Dot must be connected to external speakers to allow you to control your home entertainment system using your voice. It also works alone if you'd just like to chat to Alexa, the Echo's artificial intelligence, using a [...]
Baggage handler Aviator pulls out of UK airports including Gatwick October 20, 2016 Scandinavian baggage handler Aviator is preparing to close its UK operations, spanning Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle airports, ahead of Christmas. The move by Aviator, which is understood to be ending its contracts for financial reasons, is set for the end of November and would leave the four airports short of around 1,700 staff. It is [...]
MPs vote to strip Sir Philip Green of his knighthood October 20, 2016 MPs have voted to strip Sir Philip Green of his knighthood. MPs have been debating the collapse of BHS in the House of Commons. The amendment to take Green's knighthood was supported by over 110 MPs. The vote is not binding, and the ultimate decision over his knighthood will be taken by the honours forfeiture committee. Read more: [...]
10m journeys have been made with Sadiq Khan’s new bus Hopper fare October 20, 2016 Over 10m journeys have been made in the first six weeks of the Mayor's new bus "Hopper" fare, according to Transport for London (TfL). The milestone journey was made at 4pm on Wednesday afternoon on bus route 322, running from Tesco in Brent Park to Paddington Station. Read more: TfL signs £79m deal with Serco [...]