Here’s who could buy the Co-operative Bank February 13, 2017 The Co-operative Bank has kicked off the week with big announcement: it's put itself up for sale. The bank said it was seeking a buyer after making "considerable progress implementing its turnaround plan" – the lender famously faced a near collapse in 2013 when it admitted to a £1bn black hole in its finances. Co-op [...]
Co-op Bank’s message to customers: It’s business as usual February 13, 2017 The Co-operative Bank has moved to reassure customers after announcing it's putting itself up for sale. The bank said this morning it is seeking a buyer "alongside other options", three years into a turnaround plan put in place after the lender revealed a £1.5bn black hole in its finances. In a message to customers of the [...]
Exclusive: Charlie Mullins says Pimlico Plumbers will “more than likely” appeal court decision February 10, 2017 Pimlico Plumbers is consulting with lawyers over a probable appeal of today's court ruling on the employment status of the tradesmen it hires. Charlie Mullins, who owns and runs the company, told City A.M. he was "quite surprised" by the Court of Appeal decision handed down this morning. He said the group was in discussions [...]
360kg of cocaine worth £50m has washed up on two beaches in Norfolk February 10, 2017 Around 360kg of cocaine has washed up on two beaches in Norfolf, the National Crime Agency said today. The drugs have a potential value of £50m. A member of the public contacted Norfolk Police yesterday afternoon having discovered a number of holdalls on Hopton Beach near Great Yarmouth. Police and Border Force officers initially attended the [...]
What the experts think the Pimlico Plumbers ruling means for the gig economy February 10, 2017 The Court of Appeals ruled against Pimlico Plumbers in a case concerning employment status today. The court ruled that Gary Smith, previously a plumber with the company, was a "worker", and as such should have been afforded basic workers' rights, such as sick pay. This is how legal experts reacted to the court's decision: Continuing the trend [...]
Major natural catastrophe losses totalled $39.5bn in 2016 February 10, 2017 Losses from natural catastrophes reached a four-year high last year, driven by an earthquake in Japan and a wildfire in Canada. Insured losses arising out of natural catastrophes hit $39.5bn (£31.6bn) last year, which is the highest they've been since 2012, according to Willis Re. The largest single insured loss in 2016 came from the [...]
Pimlico Plumbers loses appeal in employment status case February 10, 2017 Pimlico Plumbers has lost its court appeal over the employment status of one of its workers. The case was brought after a ruling in favour of one of the company's "self-employed" plumbers, Gary Smith. Smith had worked as a "self-employed" plumber for the Charlie Mullins-owned company for six years and in 2010, after suffering a heart attack, [...]
Best Twitter responses to court ruling to uphold suspension of Donald Trump’s travel ban February 10, 2017 Donald Trump's travel ban is still suspended, after a US federal appeals court ruled against the US President last night. Trump is famously a massive fan of Twitter, so we've picked out the best reaction tweets to last night's news. The President himself didn't disappoint He almost immediately published a shouty message telling the court [...]
Nationwide blames low interest rates as profits drop – but building society’s results were still ahead of expectations February 10, 2017 Nationwide profits dropped during the nine months to 31 December, with the building society blaming continued low interest rates. The figures Underlying profit before tax dropped by 23 per cent to £866m from £1.13bn in the same period of last year. Statutory profit before tax was down 16 per cent to £946m from £1.12bn – [...]
Guy Hands’ Terra Firma completes disposal of all Infinis Energy assets February 9, 2017 Terra Firma has agreed to sell the onshore wind assets of renewable energy firm Infinis to JP Morgan, bringing to an end Guy Hands’ ownership of the Infinis group. Terra Firma, owned and run by Hands, floated Infinis in 2014 but took it private again after then-chancellor George Osborne introduced a series of levies on green [...]
