Think tank calls for sex trade decriminalisation in Britain: Restricting sex trade is “a waste of public money” says the Institute of Economic Affairs August 6, 2015 A free market think tank has today waded into the row on laws surrounding the UK sex trade. The sex industry should be fully decriminalised, the Westminsterbased Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said in a new report. The IEA argues that existing attempts to restrict prostitution are “ineffective, ill-informed and a waste public money”. It [...]
Legal & General sees benefits of restructure plan August 6, 2015 INSURANCE and investment group Legal & General (L&G) increased profit by six per cent in the first half of 2015, despite being hit by a 62 per cent decline in annuity sales. The company’s pre-tax profit increased to £672m, up from £636m, and L&G Investment Management grew its assets under management by 12 per cent [...]
Dollar down as jobs data dents chance of hike August 6, 2015 THE DOLLAR fell against other major global currencies yesterday after data revealed that private sector hiring slowed sharply in July, dampening expectations of an interest rate hike in September. US Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen last week reiterated that she is looking for improvement in the jobs market before voting for the first interest rate [...]
Tube mayhem rocks London businesses August 6, 2015 Retailers and leisure companies in London are braced for a multi-million pound hit as Tube workers go on strike for the second time in a month. On the day of the last strike on 9 July, London shopping malls suffered a nine per cent drop in footfall compared with the same day last year, according [...]
Cook calls on players to be Ashes heroes August 6, 2015 CAPTAIN Alastair Cook has urged one of his England colleagues to write their name into Ashes folklore with a series-clinching contribution in the fourth Investec Test, which starts today at Trent Bridge. Seamer Stuart Broad and batsmen Jonathan Trott and Kevin Pietersen have all ensured their places in national cricket history by starring in decisive [...]
Chris Tremlett’s Cricket Comment: Time for Broad to take the lead and give England vital early edge August 6, 2015 England's main concern, as they prepare for today’s fourth Ashes Test, will probably be ending their unhappy habit of following a victory with an immediate defeat. They fell into that trap at Lord’s, having won the first Test in Cardiff, so hopefully they can change that pattern and continue the momentum they built up [...]
Windfall due next year but clubs can’t wait to spend their billions August 6, 2015 PREMIER League clubs are ramping up their spending this summer in anticipation of the television cash bonanza on the horizon next year, according to a new survey. The findings, from accountants BDO’s annual survey of financial directors at English football clubs, comes after it emerged this week that spending by top-flight sides in this transfer [...]
Analyst Views: What do the latest results mean for Standard Chartered? August 5, 2015 IAN GORDON | INVESTEC “Standard Chartered has sharply underperformed sector peers, with the shares retreating by 17 per cent since peaking at 1,141p on 23 March. Our ‘hold’ recommendation and 970p RoE-g/CoE-g derived target price are maintained.” SANDY CHEN | CENKOS “We’re not exactly certain about how much to recalibrate our forecasts – but we’re [...]
Canaccord sees first-quarter revenues fall August 5, 2015 CANADIAN financial services group Canaccord Genuity yesterday announced that first-quarter revenues fell to CA$214.5m (£104m) – 13 per cent lower than the same period last year. Excluding significant items, the company recorded net income of CA$13.3m or net income of CA$9.5m attributable to common shareholders. Including all expense items, on a non-International Financial Reporting Standards [...]
UK’s services boom extends past two years August 5, 2015 THE UK and Eurozone’s service sectors are seeing slower growth, new figures show, but are still expanding at levels consistent with robust economic growth. Markit’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) – a survey of firms – fell to a score of 57.4 in July for the UK service sector, according to figures released yesterday. It marks [...]
