Arise, Sir Pickles: Former DCLG chief to be knighted May 22, 2015 Former secretary of state for communities and local government Eric Pickles is to be knighted, 10 Downing Street announced today. Although the Conservative MP lost his role in the cabinet reshuffle which took place after the election, he is to be honoured for services to local government, the Prime Minister said today. It'll be Sir [...]
St Paul’s is the UK’s favourite building, followed by Stonehenge, The Houses of Parliament – and Edinburgh Castle May 22, 2015 The UK may like to think of itself as a young, up-and-coming country – but it turns out we're a nation of traditionalists at heart: a new study has suggested the UK's favourite building is St. Paul's Cathedral. Some 38 per cent of people said the Christopher Wren-designed building is their favourite. It was closely [...]
Choice, transparency and M&A: FCA outlines terms for investment banking probe May 22, 2015 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) says it will focus on wide-ranging subjects when it launches a study into the investment and corporate banking market. In a statement today, the FCA said its investigation, which will build on a wholesale sector competition review published in February, will look at "choice, transparency, bundling and cross-subsidisation in debt [...]
Speed limit roulette, anyone? One in four speed cameras are switched off May 22, 2015 If you're planning a road trip over the bank holiday, here's a bit of good news: one in four speed cameras are switched off, it turns out. That's according to data obtained under a freedom of information request by insurance comparison site Confused.com, which found out that of the 1,714 fixed speed camera sites in [...]
Quindell share prices rises as regulators give Slater & Gordon disposal the nod May 22, 2015 Quindell shares opened 2.7 per cent higher at 132p this morning after it revealed the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had given its plans to sell its law arm the thumbs up. The company announced plans to sell its professional services division, which accounts for 90 per cent of its business, to Slater & Gordon in [...]
UK national rail strike: Which train routes are affected, will my ticket be valid, when will the strike take place? All your Network Rail bank holiday walkout questions answered May 21, 2015 UPDATE 2.45pm: The RMT has followed the TSSA union in "suspending" its strike . Things are not going well for Network Rail: having tried everything in its arsenal to prevent a planned strike by workers in the RMT union over pay and jobs, yesterday it resorted to sending threatening legal letters. Not exactly a sign of power. As [...]
Everyone panic: There could be a global Prosecco shortage this summer May 21, 2015 There's no easy way to say this, but it sounds like there's going to be a global shortage of Prosecco this summer. Apparently, last year's harvest of the grape that makes the chattering class's favourite tipple was "very poor" – down by as much as 50 per cent in some parts. That's according to Robert [...]
Former Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke was paid £764,000 by the supermarket last year May 21, 2015 Ousted Tesco chief executive Philip Clarke, who had presided over a fall of nearly 30 per cent in Tesco's share price during his three years at the helm of the supermarket, was paid £764,000 by the supermarket last year. Tesco's annual report, published this morning, showed that although he stepped down in September last year, [...]
Qatar 2022: Fifa World Cup sponsors Visa and Coca-Cola express “grave concerns” over migrant workers’ conditions May 20, 2015 World Cup sponsors Visa and Coca-Cola have expressed concerns over conditions facing migrant workers constructing projects for the 2022 tournament in Qatar. Visa said it had "grave concerns", and said it was "troubled by the reports coming out of Qatar related to the World Cup and migrant worker conditions". "We have expressed our grave concern [...]
Moody’s: Greek capital controls “highly likely” May 20, 2015 Moody's has suggested there is a "high likelihood" of capital controls being imposed on Greek banks, after outflows of more than €30bn since December. In a statement today, the credit ratings giant gave the embattled country's banking system a negative rating, adding that pressures are unlikely to ease over the next 12-18 months. "There is [...]
