Sharm el-Sheikh Metrojet A321 Russian airliner plane crash raises concerns over airport security costs November 10, 2015 Thousands of tourists stranded in the Egyptian beach resort of Sharm el-Sheikh are continuing to be brought home this morning, amid concerns businesses could have to absorb the cost of increased security. The foreign secretary Philip Hammond said that if the crash in Egypt is found to have been caused by a bomb, increased security at airports [...]
Catalonia votes to move forward with independence November 9, 2015 Catalonia's regional assembly has begun an 18-month countdown that could see it break away from Spain. The declaration won backing from a majority in the regional parliament. The resolution read: "The Catalan parliament will adopt the necessary measures to start this democratic process of massive, sustained and peaceful disconnection from the Spanish state." The latest [...]
Fintech start-up acquirer Silver Falcon to float on London Stock Market November 9, 2015 Silver Falcon, a shell investment company that is aiming to acquire fintech start-ups is today floating on the London Stock Market. The newly formed company is aiming to take advantage of London’s booming fintech startup scene, that in September City AM reported had seen record investment so far in 2015 of £357m. The directors of Silver [...]
UK Christmas sales 2015: Consumer spending soars as retailers worry over upcoming figures November 9, 2015 A double-whammy of sales data has suggested we could be in for bumper Christmas sales figures. Card giants Visa and Barclaycard both report that spending bounced back from a summer slow down in October. Visa’s index found spending growth rose to a three-month high last month, up 2.1 per cent, while Barclaycard revealed spending growth [...]
UK employment statistics 2015: Job vacancies on the rise across London November 9, 2015 Jobs are on the up across a variety of sectors, according to several reports released today. The number of new vacancies in financial services in London rose by seven per cent to 9,480 in October compared to the month before, recruitment consultancy Morgan McKinley found. The figure also represents a 28 per cent increase compared [...]
Northern SMEs and firms hit by hidden credit crunch November 9, 2015 Twice as many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the North of England have had their overdraft facilities axed as those in the London, according to research from business financial comparison site Funding Options. In the past two years 55 per cent of businesses in the North were found to have had their overdrafts [...]
TalkTalk is set to ditch its dividend following recent cyber security breach November 8, 2015 Crisis hit home broadband company TalkTalk is expected to axe its dividend this week when it reports half year results on Wednesday. The company’s finances are under fierce scrutiny following a cyber security breach which compromised the personal details of over 150,000 customers. "It's more about the signal this sends,” XTB director Joshua Raymond warned on [...]
Vocalink is reportedly in talks to merge with rival Sia November 5, 2015 Payments infrastructure company Vocalink is reportedly in talks for a £2bn merger with Italian counterpart Sia. According to Sky News the discussions are said to be at a preliminary stage, and could take several months before an agreement is reached. Vocalink declined to comment. VocaLink runs the Faster Payments Service and BACs which handle trillions [...]
First-time buyers need £50k per year to get on the property ladder – GoCompare November 5, 2015 The average UK salary of £22,000 is less than half the average needed to get on the property ladder, research from comparison website GoCompare has found. On average a minimum household income of £50,000 is required, with a 90 per cent mortgage. Unsurprisingly, London was found to be the most unaffordable, with household incomes of [...]
Tata Steel posts profit rise despite UK crisis November 5, 2015 India-based steel giant Tata has posted an increase in profit of 22 per cent to 15.29bn rupees (£152m) for its third quarter compared to the previous year. The rise in profit comes just weeks after 1,200 jobs in the UK were cut and plants shut down due to an industry supply crisis and falling raw material [...]
