Two cheers for Jean-Claude Juncker: The process of EU reform is already underway March 1, 2015 The business view of Britain’s membership of the European Union is clear: the UK needs to be in the EU and to be fully engaged. While this view is not unanimous – there are those businesses that legitimately have a different perspective, either because of the nature of the business or the priorities of the [...]
The five best quotes from Warren Buffett’s annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders on its golden anniversary March 1, 2015 Warren Buffett often has sage wisdom to share with investors – not least in his annual note to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders. This year’s golden anniversary address concerned a misty-eyed reminiscences of fifty years of the company, it’s ups and downs (mostly ups) and the future 50 years ahead. The note is also full of pearls [...]
Warren Buffett annual letter for golden anniversary: Spin offs, successor CEOs and selling Berkshire Hathaway’s Tesco stake March 1, 2015 Warren Buffett has ruled out spinning off Berkshire Hathaway into separate businesses, revealed a successor has been chosen to fill his shoes and addressed the firm’s stake in Tesco which he previously called a “huge mistake”, in his annual letter to investors. This year celebrating the firm’s golden anniversary, Buffett's highly anticipated 14-page letter reminisced [...]
First it was Scotland, now it’s Wales – David Cameron says he will devolve powers across the UK February 27, 2015 Prime Minister David Cameron has promised to give more powers to Wales through a devolution package unveiled earlier today. "We want to deliver new powers to Wales so that more decisions are taken closer to the people and give greater responsibility to the Welsh Assembly," he said during a speech at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. [...]
Boris Bikes see red: Santander is the next sponsor of Boris Johnson’s cycle hire scheme February 27, 2015 Say goodbye to the blue Boris bikes: Santander about to paint the town red as the new sponsor of London's cycle hire scheme. They're even renaming them "Santander Cycles". Under a seven-year sponsorship deal worth a cool £6.25m a year, Santander will pay £6.25m a year for the rights to naming the bikes, then add [...]
George Osborne slammed for claiming to have halved £1.7bn EU bill February 26, 2015 George Osborne will come under attack today over his claim to have halved a £1.7bn EU bill that landed on the chancellor’s desk last autumn. A powerful group of MPs led by Tory MP Andrew Tyrie will praise the Treasury for delaying the payments until later this year, but will shoot down Osborne’s bolder claim [...]
Immigration data forces David Cameron to explain failed commitment as net migration rises significantly February 26, 2015 The net migration rate in the UK has risen significantly, official figures showed yesterday, leaving Prime Minister David Cameron to explain why he has failed to meet his commitment to slash the number of people who come to the UK. The PM had said that he would reduce the rate of net migration, the difference [...]
As RBS reports a £3.5bn loss, is George Osborne right that senior executives should not get bonuses? February 26, 2015 Steve Davies, education director at the Institute of Economic Affairs, says Yes The question is not whether bonuses are the correct way to remunerate people. It is whether RBS should be making such payments when the bank is incurring serious losses. Clearly, the answer should be no. When a business is in financial straits, the [...]
Which countries would be affected if Vladimir Putin and Russia turn off the gas? February 26, 2015 Vladimir Putin could be considering closing the taps on Europe’s gas supply. Yesterday, Russia threatened to trim gas supplies to Europe in a matter of days, an action that could have a severe effect on the region. Although some countries have moved to cut their dependence on Russia, much of the continent’s gas is on the [...]
RBS chief executive Ross McEwan hands back £1m share reward February 26, 2015 Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan will forfeit a £1m portion of his pay packet for the second year in a row. McEwan, known as the lowest-paid bank boss in the FTSE 100, said he did not want to receive the "role based" incentive often used by major UK banks to get around [...]