Lidl promises to pay above the National Living Wage to all its UK staff September 18, 2015 Lidl has already beaten the big four supermarkets on price. Now, the German discounter also plans to trump them on employee benefits, after revealing that it will pay its staff above the living wage from October. The fast-growing chain announced yesterday that it will adopt the new higher rate it expects the Living Wage [...]
Kier Group on the road to higher revenues and profits as orders rise after Mouchel buy-up September 18, 2015 KIER Group’s share price dropped by 4.61 per cent yesterday after the group announced its results for the year. However, the construction firm saw a 14 per cent rise in revenue for the year to 30 June, up to £3.4bn from £2.9bn last year. The group’s pre-tax profit jumped by 17 per cent, from £73.7m [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s and shadow chancellor John McDonnell’s socialist policies ignore economic success story – The City View September 17, 2015 This has been a week of baffling contradictions. On the one hand, we learnt that wage growth is at its highest since 2009 (at 2.9 per cent) and that the employment rate is at a record high. On the other, we saw the elevation of radical Marxist John McDonnell to the office of shadow chancellor, [...]
Glencore’s equity placing attacked for ignoring shareholders’ rights September 17, 2015 The Institute of Directors (IoD) has slammed mining giant Glencore for its recent £1.6bn equity placing, saying that the firm’s “conduct falls short of what we would expect of a major global company”. Oliver Parry, senior corporate governance adviser at the IoD, said that Glencore’s decision “appears to be in direct contravention of the [...]
Soaring rents cool off in August but agents warn of imminent rises September 17, 2015 RENTS paused for breath in August after blistering increases earlier this year, but agents warn it could just be the quiet before the storm as lettings season picks up in the autumn. Average rents across England and Wales dipped 0.1 per cent last month, taking annual growth down to 5.5 per cent from July’s record [...]
Britain’s wardrobe comes with an expensive £38.5bn price tag September 17, 2015 LONDON is a city of unashamed spenders when it comes to clothing, according to new research released yesterday that estimates Britons’ wardrobes to be worth a staggering £38.5bn. The report, released yesterday by Allianz Insurance ahead of London Fashion Week, surveyed more than 2,000 Brits about their shopping habits and found that women value the [...]
City Moves for 18 September 2015 | Who’s switching jobs September 17, 2015 BNP PARIBAS INVESTMENT PARTNERS The asset manager has announced several appointments to its institutional business. Guy Williams becomes chief investment officer. He was formerly chief investment officer of the firm’s global fixed income affiliate Fischer, Francis, Trees & Watts (FFTW) Daniel Morris joins Williams’s team as senior investment strategist and Richard Barwell (pictured) joins as [...]
Market slips as Fed holds – New York Report September 17, 2015 THE S&P 500 and Dow industrials ended lower yesterday, giving up a one per cent rally in a choppy session, as investors struggled to interpret the Federal Reserve’s decision to hold off on raising interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 65.27 points, or 0.39 per cent, to 16,674.68, the S&P 500 lost 5.11 [...]
Fintech is booming – but where are the insurance tech startups? September 17, 2015 As a technology investor, I spend my days scouring Europe in search of the next big thing. London’s fintech scene has been a profitable hunting ground of late. With the UK fintech industry generating $20bn in revenue annually, it is not surprising that $5.4bn has been invested in British fintech companies since 2010. [...]
Skill shortages are costing the UK £10bn – and will continue to constrain growth September 17, 2015 Is this the recovery in the UK being held back by skill shortages? There is growing evidence that this is the case. The headlines from Wednesday’s labour market statistics focused on a very slight rise in unemployment – 10,000 over the past three months. But over the same period, recorded vacancies went up [...]
