RSA becomes the only riser on the FTSE as deadline looms for Zurich bid August 24, 2015 RSA became the only riser on the FTSE 100 as the deadline for a bid by rival Zurich loomed. With the cutoff for Zurich to announce its intention to buy the British insurer due at 5pm tomorrow, shares rose 1.5 per cent to 499p in lunchtime trading. If it does not make a formal bid [...]
Iran is open for business: Bankers, bosses and business groups join the foreign secretary as battered British embassy reopens in Tehran August 24, 2015 Bosses from Britain’s largest business groups and energy companies broke new ground over the weekend by embarking on an overseas trade mission to Iran, optimistic that thawed diplomatic relations could pave the way for future trade deals. British Bankers’ Association chief executive Anthony Browne, Institute of Directors (IoD) director general Simon Walker, and Confederation of [...]
Energy secretary on track to slash solar subsidies August 24, 2015 ENERGY secretary Amber Rudd is gearing up to slash solar power subsidies as part of the government’s latest effort to cut costs for consumers. Last year, Britain installed more solar panels than any other country in Europe. More Britons took advantage of the scheme than the government anticipated, with over 600,000 homes and businesses reportedly [...]
Chancellor George Osborne kicks off his own European tour to try and win the EU over on Cameron’s reforms August 24, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne is embarking on a whistle-stop tour of three European capitals today, in an effort to secure support for Prime Minister David Cameron’s EU reform agenda. Osborne is set to visit Helsinki, Stockholm and Copenhagen to hold meetings with key members of the Finnish, Swedish and Danish governments, including Finnish finance minister Alexander [...]
Greek debt crisis: Rebel Popular Unity party make last ditch bid for power following split from Syriza August 23, 2015 A breakaway party of 25 MPs will take the opportunity to form a new Greek government today, but its leader Panagiotis Lafazanis acknowledges it will fail. The Popular Unity party broke away from left-wing Syriza after its leader Alexis Tsipras resigned as Prime Minister. Experts say the party will use the opportunity for publicity in [...]
Plenty of profit for UK partners after Deloitte reports strong earnings August 23, 2015 Deloitte UK partners received bumper payouts this year after high business confidence led to a robust company performance. The professional services firm’s revenue hit £2.71bn in the 12 months ending 31 May, up 6.4 per cent on the year before, it said this morning. Consultancy revenues led the way with a rise of 10.5 per [...]
Jeremy Corbyn backed by anti-austerity lobby August 23, 2015 More than 40 academics and activists, including a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC), have signed a public letter supporting hard-left Labour leadership hopeful Jeremy Corbyn. In an attempt to counter mounting criticism that the Islington North MP is too extreme in his views, the signatories, including former MPC [...]
Who’s supporting corbynomics? August 23, 2015 John Ross, Socialist blogger A former economic adviser to Ken Livingstone, Ross was reportedly paid a six-figure salary during Livingstone’s time at City Hall. He now writes on a blog called the Socialist Economic Bulletin, which states that it is published by Livingstone, although his most recent post was back in May after the General [...]
Persimmon bosses to share in £600m payout under long-term bonus scheme August 23, 2015 The bosses of Britain’s largest housebuilder Persimmon are in line for a potential £600m-plus windfall after a bumper year fuelled by the housing market recovery. More than 130 of the group’s senior management are expected to share in the award in December as part of a long-term incentive scheme launched three years ago. In total, [...]
The decline of UK manufacturing: Companies say Britain is losing out to global rivals August 23, 2015 British manufacturers are worried about falling behind their overseas competitors, according to a new survey out today. EEF and Vodafone, who conducted the survey, said that while 94 per cent of UK manufacturers were engaged in innovation initiatives, most were concerned that they were not doing enough to stay competitive. Their sentiment matches the latest [...]
