City and Gild: Premium brands should beware the temptation to “be more Aldi” June 17, 2015 So the head of the Boarding Schools Association, Robin Fletcher, has apparently encouraged his members to be more like Aldi, and cut their prices to offer a budget version in an effort to appeal to a larger market. If filling spaces were the issue for boarding schools, then this could be an approach you [...]
RBS missing payments blasted by Treasury Select Committee chairman Andrew Tyrie June 17, 2015 The Treasury Select Committee chairman has blasted RBS for the “serious” glitch that caused hundreds of thousands of payments to go missing. It emerged this morning that around 600,000 payments, including tax credits and benefits, had not been made overnight, leaving thousands of RBS, Natwest, Coutts and Ulster Bank customers stranded without enough cash [...]
End Austerity Now march will completely disrupt parts of the City around Bank and Mansion House, say City of London Police June 17, 2015 A major protest against austerity measures will take over central London this Saturday – and people are being warned to avoid certain parts of the capital as a result. The End Austerity Now march, which is being organised by the People's Assembly Against Austerity and supported by several unions and pressure groups, is expected [...]
RBS glitch affecting 600,000 payments for customers of RBS, Natwest, Coutts and Ulster not resolved until Saturday June 17, 2015 RBS has failed to put through around 600,000 payments for customers across the group as a result of a technical issue – and the money could be missing for several more days. RBS, Natwest, Coutts and Ulster Bank are all thought to have been affected by the issue, which was discovered first thing this [...]
Rangers shareholders vote against immediate repayment of Mike Ashley’s £5m loan June 17, 2015 More than half of Rangers' shareholders have voted against paying back Mike Ashley's £5m immediately. The Sports Direct founder and owner of Newcastle called a meeting at Ibrox on Friday – which he did not attend personally – seeking repayment of the loan as well as an explanation for why the club had delisted from [...]
RBS share price falls as Natwest urgently investigates “missing” customer payments June 17, 2015 Natwest has launched an emergency investigation into “missing” customer payments caused by yet more computer glitches. The RBS-owned bank said this morning it was looking into the issue “as a matter of urgency”, telling customers it was a “technical issue with payments crediting”. It said those who needed to access funds today should [...]
Aldi Shmaldi: Conviviality Retail’s Bargain Booze is playing German discounter at its own game June 16, 2015 Last week it was teachers, this week it's rival retailers. Aldi has suddenly become the brand to beat. Conviviality Retail – which runs Bargain Booze – has this week launched a head-to-head campaign with budget grocer Aldi, pitting its prices for big-label brands such as Carlsberg Export and Smirnoff against the supermarket's own label [...]
Breaking Bad and Walking Dead cable channel AMC Networks is coming to the UK June 16, 2015 Get ready box-set fans. AMC Networks, the cable network that has brought us such series as Breaking Bad and Mad Men, is launching in the UK this September – but only to BT customers. The exclusive multi-year deal will kick off with the launch of Walking Dead spin-off Fear the Walking Dead on BT [...]
James Bond eat your heart out: Jaguar Land Rover has created the world’s first real remote controlled car June 16, 2015 Good news for all those who have ever wanted to drive your car using a remote control (and let’s face it, after James Bond did it in Tomorrow Never Dies, who wouldn’t?). Researchers at Jaguar Land Rover (that’s a whole team of Qs) have created the world’s first genuine full-size car that can be operated [...]
Cambridge University establishes Lego-funded “professorship of play” June 16, 2015 Everything is awesome – particularly if you have academic leanings but secretly want to play with kids’ toys all day. Cambridge University, the UK’s top educational establishment, is creating a “professorship of play” – which will be funded by toy giant Lego. The new role – professor of play in education, development and [...]