Q&A with Andrew Kerr: how you can help shape Edinburgh’s future October 11, 2016 | City Talk Edinburgh’s residents, businesses and partners are being invited to help shape the capital’s future under the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision project. We spoke to City of Edinburgh Council chief executive Andrew Kerr to discover more. What is the 2050 Edinburgh City Vision? Edinburgh has always been known as a city of innovation and change. The last 30 [...]
Samsung shares slide as electronics giant halts Galaxy Note 7 sales on exploding battery concerns October 11, 2016 Shares in Samsung were down 6.7 per cent this morning after the South Korean electronics giant halted sales of its Galaxy Note 7 smartphone and urged customers to switch off their devices. The company has asked all global carriers to stop selling the Note 7 devices and halt exchanges of the original device for replacements, while it works [...]
Asia minister announces “technopreneur” tie-up between Britain and Indonesia October 11, 2016 The Foreign Office has announced a new trade partnership with Indonesia to create a generation of “technopreneurs”, providing a signal of how post-Brexit Britain intends to look beyond the EU in developing economic ties. Britain's Asia Minister Alok Sharma MP, will unveil the plans during his trip this week to Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand. The project will fund training for young scientists [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan to call on government to prioritise access to the EU’s Single Market October 11, 2016 London mayor Sadiq Khan will today urge the government to prioritise access to the EU’s Single Market as it enters crucial Brexit negotiations. Speaking at an event organised by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Khan will emphasise the need to “safeguard future economic prosperity and help maintain London’s position as a global financial centre”. [...]
Business rates that hit London need reform October 11, 2016 Business rates are a blunt instrument, one which is set to deliver a heavy blow to London’s retailers, offices and hotels. Rates are due to rise from next April after a revaluation of rateable values for England’s 1.85m commercial properties by the Valuation Office Agency. It is the first such revaluation since 2010. Analysis by [...]
Is the tumbling pound providing a correction, or are we losers now? October 11, 2016 A strong currency can be a sign of a country’s economic success. When a currency rises against another, those earning income in it have greater spending power. Equally, a weaker currency is considered by some to be a source of national embarrassment. Last week’s sterling crash was rather embarrassing for Britain – the pound fell 4.2 [...]
Done right, fiscal policy can act as a channel to direct monetary stimulus into the real economy, not asset prices October 11, 2016 It's scarcely possible to read about global economic policy these days without hearing that central banks have run out of ammunition and a call to open the fiscal floodgates. But is fiscal policy really the answer to whatever is ailing the global economy? And has the great monetary experiment really reached the end of the road? [...]
City Moves for 11 October 2016 | Who’s switching jobs October 11, 2016 Covington Lord Francis Maude, the former UK minister for trade and investment in Prime Minister David Cameron’s government, has joined Covington as a senior adviser in the firm’s public policy and government affairs practice.With a political career spanning almost 40 years, Lord Maude has held a number of high profile government positions, including financial secretary [...]
Summer sun and price cuts drive best quarter for food sales since 2013 October 11, 2016 The food sector has had its best quarter of sales in two years, according to new figures. Like-for-like sales across all retail categories increased 0.4 per cent year-on-year in September, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG. Read more: Rosé wine, gin and ice cream sales gave Waitrose a summer boost last [...]
Oil price gush lifts FTSE close to a record high October 11, 2016 Oil prices hit a 14-month high and the FTSE 100 recorded its second-highest close on record yesterday after Vladimir Putin suggested Russia would take part in a production cut alongside the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). The Russian President told the World Energy Congress in Istanbul he supported the agreement reached by Opec [...]