Bank of England warns EU bonus cap has increased risk of instability in the financial sector December 16, 2015 The EU bonus cap has increased the risk of instability in the financial sector, Bank of England researchers said yesterday. Chancellor George Osborne is being urged to press the EU on removing rules capping bankers’ bonuses after the Bank called the policy “counterproductive”. The Bank said that the cap, which restricts bonuses to 100 per cent of [...]
Lords leap on banker bashing bandwagon December 15, 2015 They say that nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come. But what of an idea whose time came, went and which was then resurrected in the name of good old fashioned banker bashing? That's where we now find ourselves with the so-called "reverse burden of proof" rule for senior bankers. It first [...]
Tim Peake’s mission marks a historic day for the UK space industry as Britain’s first International Space Station astronaut gets set for lift off December 15, 2015 Today marks an historic day for British science, innovation and space investment. It is the day that Tim Peake blasts off to the International Space Station – the first British astronaut from the European Space Agency to do so. This remarkable feat is the pinnacle of the UK’s growing global capability in space innovation and research – a [...]
Oil price slide casts shadow over Shell’s £47bn takeover of BG Group December 15, 2015 Shell's mega merger with BG Group was given the green light by Chinese regulators yesterday, but the deal has been rocked after tumbling oil prices led to a major shareholder questioning its viability. The price of international benchmark Brent crude oil yesterday fell to fresh lows of $36.33 per barrel before a rally in early evening [...]
Asian investors’ spending on UK tech M&A has jumped to almost £4.5bn this year December 14, 2015 The UK's tech companies have been flavour of the month, or even year, for Asian investors, with Asian-led M&A worth $6.78bn (£4.48bn) in 2015, up from $867m in 2014. The total invested through M&A since 2010 is $20.7bn. The amount invested through private placements has increased by an incredible 2,450 per cent, from $7m in 2013 [...]
Bottling airport decision is bad for UK business and casts doubt over new infrastructure commission December 11, 2015 What exactly was the point of the Airport Commission? That was the question being asked last night by, among others, IoD boss Simon Walker. Having launched in 2012, the commission reported earlier this year after an extensive and exhaustive investigation into Britain’s airport capacity. The exercise cost £20m and was designed, in part, to remove [...]
John Lewis sales suffer post-Black Friday hangover but sales are still up year-on-year December 11, 2015 After reporting record-breaking numbers over Black Friday, John Lewis today said that it saw a double-digit drop in sales last week. Sales fell 11.8 per cent to £165.6m compared with the last week of November, although the number is still up 13.6 per cent on the same week last year. This is in stark contrast [...]
Companies flock to London to float on stock market after its bumper year of IPOs December 11, 2015 Companies have been coming to London in droves to bring their companies to market, according to accountants at PwC. London’s stock market was found to be the most active exchange in Europe in 2015, with just over £11.5bn raised through 84 initial public offerings (IPOs). London also became home to three of the biggest IPOs of [...]
Sports Direct share price drops by 10 per cent as growth slows and questions mount over working conditions December 10, 2015 Discount sports retailer Sports Direct has had one of its worse days on record, with its share price closing down over 10 per cent last night, wiping hundreds of millions of its market capitalisation. The sell off was due to a double whammy of missing analyst expectations for growth and further questions over staff working [...]
Heathrow decision delayed: Government confirms deadline has been extended until next summer December 10, 2015 The government has confirmed that it will delay making a decision on whether to expand Heathrow Airport until at least next summer. In an announcement that sparked outrage among business groups, the government said that it "accepted the case for airport expansion in the south-east and the Airports Commission’s shortlist of options for expansion" but "more work [...]
