Marks & Spencer’s share price tumbles as head of general merchandise John Dixon quits July 17, 2015 Marks & Spencer's head of general merchandise John Dixon has quit the business after three years in the role, prompting the retailer's share price to tumble in early trading. Dixon "has decided to leave the business to pursue career opportunities outside of the company", the retailer said this morning. He will step down from [...]
Greek crisis: George Osborne wins guarantee that UK cash used in Greek loan will be paid back July 16, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has managed to secure a guarantee on £700m of British funds that will be loaned to Greece while it continues to negotiate its bailout. Earlier this week Eurozone officials decided that tapping into a €7bn pan-EU fund called the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) would be the most viable option. However, [...]
Apple Pay fail: If your iPhone or Apple Watch battery dies on the Tube, TfL says you’ll have to stump up the maximum fare July 16, 2015 The cracks in Apple's new contactless system (or perhaps, more specifically, the lifetime of its devices' batteries) are starting to show. As part of a detailed set of advice for commuters using their iPhones and Apple Watches to effortlessly waft through ticket barriers on the Tube, TfL has warned of the very real possibility [...]
Apple Pay in the UK: Like not laughing at a Michael Mcintyre gag, resistance is futile July 16, 2015 When Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook revealed its physical wallet-replacement service last September, I recall a tut and an eye roll at yet another Apple product announcement. A form of contactless payment, re-marketed as a physical wallet-replacement service, would be with us this summer. Where's the innovation in that? In many ways Apple [...]
Tata Steel cuts 720 jobs over UK’s “cripplingly high electricity costs”, slams government for failing to tackle rises July 16, 2015 The government has been slammed for failing to tackle “the UK's cripplingly high electricity costs,” which Tata Steel claim have left it no choice but to make 720 UK jobs redundant. Most of the jobs are being cut from its steel bar-making plant in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, which has been underperforming because of [...]
Kingsland Road reopened after police officers talk a man down from a roof July 16, 2015 Kingsland Road has been reopened after police talked a man down from the roof of a building he had been threatening to throw himself from. Officers from the Metropolitan Police were called to the scene – a major A-road near Shoreditch – at 10:22am this morning, along with London Ambulance Service and London Fire [...]
Barclays finally comments on Sir Mike Rake’s departure: He’ll be at the company until a new chief exec is in place July 16, 2015 A good 24 hours after the world learned that Sir Mike Rake was leaving Barclays, the bank has finally issued a comment. It seems the news caught the bank off guard – initially a spokesperson told City A.M. no resignation letter had been received and that as far as the business was concerned, he [...]
Entrepreneurs beware: The Entrepreneurs Networks parliamentary snapshot reveals just how little MPs know about EIS, SEIS and other startup policies July 16, 2015 How much do MPs know about the real business world? A new survey suggests it might be even less than you think (and we're assuming you had pretty low expectations already). The Entrepreneurs Network's annual parliamentary snapshot has exposed a “worrying lack of knowledge” about existing policies that are designed to support entrepreneurs. [...]
Tessa Jowell forms business group with former trade minister Mervyn Davies to make London the tech capital of the world July 16, 2015 How can London become the tech capital of the world? That's the question being put to business leaders including former trade minister Mervyn Davies, National Express chairman Sir John Armitt and London Chamber of Commerce chairman Mark Adams today. The group, which has been set up by mayoral hopeful Tessa Jowell, also includes [...]
Britain might be struggling with tightest power supply in a decade, but there are very good reasons not to bet on a winter of blackouts July 15, 2015 I was fascinated to hear Lord Redesdale say earlier this month that he would put money on blackouts and brownouts by the end of the year. It’s an interesting position to take, but I am very willing to take up his wager. Why has Lord Redesdale taken up his position? We both know that [...]
