UK government backs arrest in Snowden case August 20, 2013 THE BRITISH government has defended the police’s right to detain a journalist’s partner if they thought lives might be at risk from data he was carrying from fugitive US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. Facing legal and diplomatic complaints after police held Guardian writer Glenn Greenwald’s Brazilian partner for nine hours on Sunday – and accused [...]
Exclusive: TV licence offences responsible for a tenth of all UK court cases August 20, 2013 TV LICENSING offences now account for more than a tenth of all criminal prosecutions in the UK, City A.M. can reveal. More than 180,000 people – almost 3,500 a week – appeared in front of magistrates during 2012 after being accused of watching TV without paying the £145.50 fee. Magistrates handled a total of 1.48m cases last year, meaning [...]
Creditors fight back in Detroit bankruptcy case August 20, 2013 DETROIT’S bankruptcy filing has been challenged in the courts by pension funds and unions, who are claiming the city’s filing falls afoul of the US constitution. Interested parties had until yesterday to lodge their objections to the biggest municipal bankruptcy in American history. While bondholders refrained, unions for public sector workers argued that the decision [...]
Regional gulf as house lending hits 2008 level August 20, 2013 MORTGAGE lending in July leapt back to levels last seen five years ago, but some parts of the country are still yet to see any boost from the budding recovery to the housing market. According to staggering figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday, gross mortgage lending rose to £16.6bn in July, [...]
Persimmon builds on improving sentiment with jump in profits August 20, 2013 AN IMPROVING housing market, a pick-up in mortgage availability and a rise in consumer demand have helped to boost Persimmon’s profits and margins in the first half. Britain’s largest housebuilder by market value yesterday reported a 40 per cent jump in underlying pre-tax profits to £135.3m in the six months to 30 June, compared to [...]
Employers’ body attacks Labour position on zero-hours contracts August 20, 2013 THE INSTITUTE of Directors slammed the Labour party’s stance on zero-hours contracts yesterday, defending the system as useful. The statement came after Labour held a summit on the employment practice, citing a report by researchers at the Resolution Foundation. According to the group, average hourly pay for someone on a zero-hours contract is £9, in [...]
Cineworld falls foul in arthouse cinema buyout August 20, 2013 CINEMA chain Cineworld could be forced to sell three venues belonging to the art-house Picturehouse chain after regulators said owning the sites could drive up prices for cinema-goers. The group, which runs 79 cinemas across the country, merged with Picturehouse in a £47m deal last December, giving the combined outfit a 26 per cent share [...]
Ex-Channel Five boss Dawn Airey takes Yahoo’s top European gig August 20, 2013 FORMER Channel Five supremo Dawn Airey was yesterday appointed as Yahoo’s most senior official for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Airey, who in a long television career also held senior posts at Channel 4, Sky and ITV, will be based in London as a senior vice-president and work in Yahoo’s headquarter in California on [...]
Profits dip at John Menzies August 20, 2013 JOHN Menzies reported a slight fall in first-half profit yesterday as declines at the company’s newspaper distribution business took the shine off strong trading at its airport services business. The company, which provides airport services and distributes newspapers and magazines, reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £22.8m, down three per cent from £23.5m a year [...]
Canary Wharf signs six new retailers August 20, 2013 Canary Wharf Group has signed up six new retailers to an extension of its shopping mall in the financial district, due to open in November. Luxury brands Michael Kors and Monica Vinader, homeware store Tiger of Sweden, Schuh, the shoe retailer, sportswear brand Asics and chocolatier Godiva have exchanged contracts to open stores at Jubilee [...]
