Carphone Warehouse cyber attack probed by data watchdog ICO August 10, 2015 Dixons Carphone has suffered its first major blow since last year’s £4bn merger after admitting to a huge data breach that has put millions of customers at risk and sparked an investigation by the UK’s data watchdog. The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) said yesterday that it is “making enquiries” into the attack after being [...]
Gender equality group to set pay target for female FTSE 100 execs August 10, 2015 The government-backed committee charged with promoting greater gender equality among UK companies is considering targeting earnings as its next campaign issue. The Davies Review is looking into ways to push the gender equality agenda forwards, after UK firms reached its original target of appointing women to 25 per cent of FTSE 100 board positions earlier [...]
NASA’s fruit and veg is out of this world August 10, 2015 NASA has developed a plant growth chamber dubbed “Veggie” and sent it into orbit, with the first-ever space-grown fruit and veg set to be harvested today on the International Space Station, meaning astronauts will be sampling fresh food grown in space for the very first time. Astronauts will be allowed to eat half of the [...]
Frackers urge Whitehall: Fast track our plans August 10, 2015 Fracking companies yesterday urged the government to press forward with plans to fast-track their applications following an intervention by Amber Rudd, the energy secretary. Rudd’s colleague at the ministry, Andrea Leadsom, echoed the secretary of state’s support for fracking, telling City A.M.: “We are exploring ways to really kickstart the industry as we know it [...]
Shire ramps up bid to win over Baxalta board August 10, 2015 The board of Baxalta will come under renewed pressure to open takeover negotiations this week, following early campaigning by Shire to promote its $30bn (£19.4bn) offer for the US firm. However, Baxalta insists that it will not accept this offer, with a company source describing the bid price as being “nowhere near” the value [...]
Top banks could face millions in new PPI claims over commission August 10, 2015 Britain’s top banks are facing further fall out from the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). The latest potential threat comes from a case brought by lecturer Susan Plevin, over a loan and PPI policy taken out in 2006. She was unaware that more than 70 per cent of the commission she paid on the [...]
Trouble in paradise for Mark Warner August 10, 2015 MARK Warner, the family-focused tour operator, said last year was less than plain-sailing after difficult trading conditions in both the ski and summer markets sparked an 80 per cent slump in profits. Turnover fell by 2.2 per cent to £42.4m in the year to 31 October 2014 while pre-tax profits shrank to £106,273, accounts published [...]
Employers turn to graduates as skills shortages bite August 10, 2015 Businesses are turning more towards graduates and apprentices to fill their skills gaps, new survey figures reveal this morning. Apprentices are currently seen as the best way to fill skills gaps by 33 per cent of employers, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). It marks a climb on spring 2014’s 22 [...]
Philip Hammond says migrants hit EU living standards and demands clamp down on African immigration August 10, 2015 Foreign secretary Philip Hammond claimed yesterday that European living standards are at risk unless the continent clamps down on immigration from Africa. Speaking in Singapore, Hammond said: “So long as the European Union’s laws are the way they are, many of them will only have to set foot in Europe to be pretty confident that [...]
Bank executives fear regulation is harming the UK’s international competitiveness August 10, 2015 Tough regulation of the banking sector is harming the UK’s international competitiveness, according to a poll of executives published this morning. Thousands of pages of regulation were written up in response to the financial crisis, and new rules are constantly being added to them. But many of the rules are negatively affecting the UK’s global [...]
