UK house prices: You can actually buy a flat in Preston for the price of a Ford Fiesta – or a property in Greater London for an Aston Martin March 8, 2016 It might be hard to believe, but you could buy a property in (Greater) London for the price of a (very expensive) car. Of course, it might be quite a toss-up: your £100,000 can get you either a one bed flat in Tilbury, near Romford – the cheapest property available in what estate agents call London (even [...]
Budget 2016: George Osborne might have u-turned on the pensions Isa but we shouldn’t celebrate stability yet March 8, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne may have pulled the plug on changes to pension tax relief in next week’s Budget, but we're not out of the woods yet – and can’t rule out him having other ‘detailed technical’ changes up his sleeve for next Wednesday. While arguably simpler for brand new savers, the pensions Isa idea was problematic. It would have required [...]
Can the sharing economy solve the UK’s productivity puzzle? We need to properly crunch the numbers to see how beneficial it could be March 8, 2016 If you want to get better at something, you first need to understand how you are presently performing. Without a starting reference, you can’t plan how best to move forward. In the UK right now, we face a measurement problem. Digital technology and the rise of the sharing economy has so quickly reshaped how we [...]
EU referendum: How Brexit could affect your business March 8, 2016 After years of heated debate and soap opera style ‘will we/won’t we’ plot twists, Britain is finally having a referendum on leaving the EU. Regardless of your personal view on the issue, as a business owner this is one debate you can’t ignore. This month the Financial Reporting Council urged companies to include the potential [...]
Kings Cross evacuated during morning rush hour: Victoria, Circle, Metropolitan, Piccadilly, Hammersmith and City and Northern Lines affected March 8, 2016 Commuters were thrown into chaos this morning after Kings Cross station was evacuated during rush hour. The major Tube station was closed just before 9am, forcing hundreds of passengers outside during the busiest time of the day. TfL said the station closure was down to heavy overcrowding – however commuters said they saw "police everywhere", and said [...]
It’s not just coffee: Chocolate makes you smarter and may protect against age-related decline March 8, 2016 If you're looking for a reason to break your Lent pledge and scoff a load of Easter eggs a few weeks early, look no further. Scientists claim that chocolate is not just good for your health – it also makes you smarter. A new study, published in the journal Appetite, claims eating chocolate on a [...]
Tesco’s share price climbs as it stems declines but Asda and Morrisons crowned worst performing supermarkets in the UK March 8, 2016 Tesco has continued to stem its declines, but Asda and Morrisons have tumbled further, according to Kantar Worldpanel's latest figures for the supermarket sector. Sales at Tesco fell 0.8 per cent – meaning its performance is still well below the sector average of 0.5 per cent growth – but a relative improvement on last month's decline of [...]
Npower job cuts confirmed as big six energy giant loses 350,000 customers in a year March 8, 2016 RWE has confirmed it will make 2,400 job cuts at Npower, after the big six firm notched up an operating loss of €137m (£106m). The German energy giant blamed "fierce competition", customer services issues and "operational and technical problems" for poor performance at its UK subsidiary NPower – which lost 350,000 customers in a year. Npower said [...]
RWE suspends dividend as its posts €637m loss, confirms Npower restructure, warns of worse to come in 2016 March 8, 2016 Energy giant RWE's share price fell this morning after suspending its dividend for 2015 and warning that results will get even worse before there is an improvement. RWE has confirmed it will make 2,400 job cuts at the Big Six firm, after Npower notched up an operating loss of €137m (£106m). RWE's share price fell on the [...]
From pensions panic and Barclays bungles to Brexit blues and half pint horrors: Here’s what got us talking this week March 4, 2016 There was a hush hush high profile wedding. There were some fancy cars. And there was the disappointing discovery that having a job actually costs you money. Here's what got us talking 1) Pensions panic Retirees at both ends of the spectrum continued to fret over changes to their pension scheme. In one corner, we [...]
