Britain’s economic hopes rest not on productivity, but happiness January 14, 2019 They were the best of times, they were the worst of times. Thank you, Dickens, for words that capture the daily diet of our much-divided Britain. Happiness seems to be much on our minds, mainly because it seems so difficult to attain and then maintain. Next week we face Blue Monday, allegedly the most depressing [...]
JD Sports eyes strong profits thanks to international expansion January 14, 2019 JD Sports today said it expects full-year profits to hit the higher end of its targets as international growth helped defy tough retail conditions. The sports retailer reported total sales growth of 15 per cent in the 48 weeks to 5 January, with like-for-like sales up five per cent in the same period. Read more: Retail [...]
Government should scrap ‘arbitrary’ migration target and harmful visa cap, says think tank January 14, 2019 The UK should scrap its "arbitrary" net migration target and harmful visa cap, a leading centre-right think tank has proposed. A new report released today by the Institute of Economic Affairs calls the UK's approach to immigration policy "economically damaging" and "too restrictive" when applied to high-skilled workers. The IEA said that as well as scrapping a [...]
MPs seeking to relieve the government of its authority are playing a dangerous game January 13, 2019 Ahead of tomorrow's vote on Theresa May's proposed withdrawal agreement, it is worth reflecting on the legislative events that have brought us to this point. 554 MPs voted in favour of holding a referendum. It was presented, by the government of the day as well as leading Remain campaigners, as a once-in-a-lifetime event. Campaign material [...]
Fund manager Neil Woodford leads push to oust top Kier Group executives January 13, 2019 Leading fund manager Neil Woodford is leading a push to unseat construction group Kier’s top executive team after its botched rights issue, according to reports. Woodford Investment Management, which owns a 16 per cent stake in Kier, is leading a push to replace chief executive Haydn Mursell and finance director Bev Dew, Sky News reported [...]
Fears over business rates mount as Britain’s major retailers prepare to form action group January 13, 2019 Some of Britain’s biggest retailers are coming together in an urgent bid to seek business rates relief from the government, City A.M. has learned. Around 50 major high street names are joining a mass lobbying effort to curb forthcoming rises in their property tax, as profits plunge in the face of falling sales and online [...]
MPs plot to wrestle Brexit agenda away from Theresa May as vote on deal fast approaches January 13, 2019 A cross-party group of MPs is reportedly plotting to seize control of the Brexit negotiations as the countdown to vote on Theresa May's deal fast approaches. Senior backbenchers, including former minister Nick Boles and Labour MP Dominic Grieve, are reportedly spearheading efforts to shake up the Commons rulebook so that backbenchers' motions take precedence over [...]
Elon Musk company SpaceX to cut 10 per cent of staff January 12, 2019 Elon Musk’s company SpaceX will cut around 10 per cent of its 6,000 staff, it revealed on Friday. The company announced it would be parting ways with around 600 people due to the “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead”. “To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, [...]
Chris Grayling: Blocking Brexit could prompt surge in right-wing extremism January 12, 2019 The UK could see a huge surge in right-wing extremism if the government blocks or weakens Brexit, a cabinet minister has warned. Transport secretary Chris Grayling said any moves to block Theresa May’s Brexit deal would cause the 17m people who voted to leave the EU feel “cheated”. Grayling told the Daily Mail any intervention [...]
US government shutdown hits 800,000 federal workers as they miss first payday of the year January 12, 2019 As many as 800,000 public sector workers missed their first payday of the year on Friday as the US government’s partial shutdown continued for a third week. Many workers have been working without the guarantee of pay since the shutdown began on December 22, including airport staff, prison guards and other vital public service personnel. [...]