City jobs drive UK productivity as sector grows: Average finance worker contributes £85,000 to the economy each year December 21, 2014 The City is continuing to punch above its weight to boost productivity in the economy, figures out today reveal. Around 2.1m people now work in the finance and professional services industry across the nation. This represents only 7.2 per cent of the UK’s workforce, but contributes 12 per cent of the UK’s £1.5 trillion total [...]
German World Cup win boosts Adidas December 21, 2014 ADIDAS has sold more than three million Germany soccer shirts in the past year, with demand boosted by the national team’s victory at the World Cup tournament in July, its chief executive said. That is twice as many as it sold when the World Cup was held in Germany in 2006, helped by demand from [...]
Did Sony lose the plot when it cancelled The Interview release after pressure? December 21, 2014 A film about the assassination of the North Korean leader has led to a diplomatic crisis. Sony Pictures has been in the doghouse ever since it announced last week that it would not go ahead with the Christmas Day-release of new film The Interview, following a series of cyber attacks on the company and threats [...]
Tough year for Rosneft could impact on BP December 21, 2014 OIL FIRM BP could feel the impact of problems with the Russian economy as a result of its 19.75 per cent stake in Rosneft, bought in March 2013. The $25bn (£16bn) deal, which saw BP sell its 50 per cent stake in TNK-BP to state-controlled Rosneft for $12.3bn in cash plus stock, was seen as [...]
UK plays down German talk of Urenco floating December 21, 2014 THE GOVERNMENT has distanced itself from reports that it is testing market interest in uranium enrichment company Urenco, which it part owns alongside Germany and the Netherlands. The UK government announced it was selling its third of the firm, which is the world’s second largest nuclear fuel vendor after Russia’s Tenex, in April 2013. It [...]
Synova backs high net worth insurance firm December 21, 2014 INSURANCE broker Stackhouse Poland has been sold to its management for an undisclosed sum, using funding from private equity firm Synova Capital. The investor bought its stake from sales and marketing director Keith Hester. Bank debt finance for the transaction was provided by Lloyds Bank. Stackhouse, which specialises in insurance for high net worth individuals, [...]
Stricter immigration rules, lack of skills and red tape could stunt UK firms’ hiring plans December 21, 2014 UK firms are worried that a lack of skills, stricter immigration rules, and over-regulation could scupper their plans to expand next year. Business are looking to take on more workers with 50 per cent of firms planning to add to their headcount in 2015, according to survey data released today by the Confederation of British [...]
London house price boom loses steam as national prices pick up December 21, 2014 London house prices are moving at a rate more in line the rest of the UK, new data shows, while homeowners borrow more in the run up to Christmas.The average UK price was up 7.8 per cent year-on-year in November compared to 7.9 per cent in London, according to figures released today from Haart estate [...]
Lobby group: Poorest pay the largest slice of income in tax December 21, 2014 FAMILIES on the lowest incomes pay a higher proportion of their gross income in tax than any other the income group, the Taxpayers’ Alliance (TPA) – a lobby group – has said today. The poorest 10 per cent of households pay 47 per cent of their gross income in taxes, the most of any income [...]
Brits get back taste for dining out December 21, 2014 CONSUMER spending has grown 3.3 per cent so far this year, led by a boom in restaurant spending by hungry Brits, figures from Barclaycard show. Restaurant spending is up 14.6 per cent this year, with DIY spending the second fastest rising expenditure at 8.8 per cent.
