John Whittingdale is surprised by defensive BBC after green paper published July 19, 2015 Cukture secretary John Whittingdale said yesterday that he was surprised by the BBC’s defensive response towards a governmental review of its remit. Whittingdale published a green paper in the Commons last week, posing questions regarding the future of the BBC, which parliament will debate before the renewal of the network’s soon-to-expire Royal Charter. Following the [...]
James Dyson warns business secretary Sajid Javid on foreign students immigration policy July 19, 2015 Sir James Dyson is not happy with business secretary Sajid Javid. Javid last week insisted foreign students should leave after their studies, indicating a fresh push by the government to introduce new legislation cracking down on their right to work after graduating. Now the hugely respected entrepreneur has attacked the business secretary's stance saying that the [...]
David Cameron: “I want Britain to do more” fighting Isis in Syria and Iraq, PM tells NBC’s Meet the Press July 19, 2015 David Cameron has said he wants Britain to do more to help fight Isis in the Middle East and is committed to working with the US to destroy the caliphate in Iraq and Syria. Speaking to NBC News, the Prime Minister said there were discussions taking place in parliament about what more could be done. [...]
Bungles and blunders: From the life insurance scandal to confusion over HSBC, here are Financial Conduct Authority boss Martin Wheatley’s worst moments July 17, 2015 As Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) chief executive Martin Wheatley takes his final bow, many in the City will be celebrating – after all, this is the man who famously promised to “shoot first and ask questions later” when it came to regulating the finance sector. Read more: George Osborne ousts Wheatley from the FCA [...]
George Osborne ousts Martin Wheatley from FCA July 17, 2015 Martin Wheatley, the man who famously said he would "shoot first and ask questions later" as he launched the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has been ousted by chancellor George Osborne. Wheatley, who will leave on 12 September, jumped before he was pushed: City A.M understands he resigned after learning Osborne had decided not to [...]
IMF’s Christine Lagarde says Greek plan not viable without debt reduction July 17, 2015 IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said that the deal between Greece and its creditors will be "categorically" impossible without some form of debt relief. "The answer is quite categorically not," she said in response to questions on the viability of the €86bn (£59.8bn) three-year aid package on France's Europe1 radio station. Lagarde added any debt [...]
BBC shows the strain over Tory reform plan: “Aunty has very much pulled up her sleeves” July 16, 2015 The BBC ramped up its fight with the government yesterday as a groundbreaking Conservative review threatened the broadcaster’s size, funding, content and regulation. Culture secretary John Whittingdale revealed a green paper on the future of the corporation, questioning whether it should aim to be “all things to all people”, attacking its “regressive” licence fee scheme [...]
Mark Carney fuels speculation of 2015 interest rate hike July 16, 2015 Bank of England governor Mark Carney last night dropped another strong hint that markets could be underestimating the likelihood of a 2015 interest rate hike. “In the current circumstances there is no need to wait to raise rates because of a risk management approach and run the risk of inflation overshooting target,” he said in [...]
Draghi raises lending to Greek banks and calls for debt relief July 16, 2015 GREECE was given a major boost by the European Central Bank (ECB) yesterday as it called for debt relief and lifted the amount that could be lent to its banks. ECB chief Mario Draghi said it was “uncontroversial” that Greece is in need of debt relief. It goes against the view of most of the Eurozone, who are resisting [...]
Boris banters in Twitter Q&A July 16, 2015 YOU WOULD have thought that by now politicians would have learnt to avoid Twitter Q&As. They just descend into silliness. Never one to let the fear of causing a scene deter him, Boris Johnson held his own yesterday and fought fire with fire. Rather than ignoring some of the sillier questions, including “are you excited [...]