Households and small firms confident about UK growth May 25, 2015 SMALL businesses are increasingly confident in the state of the UK economy, according to a study out yesterday from insurance firm Zurich, as the recovery becomes increasingly entrenched. And although consumer confidence slipped a touch in the run up to the General Election, Lloyds Bank figures show households aided by falling energy bills, brought on [...]
Bernanke: China faces risks as it aims for reserve status for yuan May 25, 2015 THE FORMER chairman of the Federal Reserve has warned that China needs to have deep and liquid financial markets if it wants to loosen rules on trading in its currency. “For a currency to be internationally traded, what you need most is liquid markets,” Ben Bernanke told an audience in Shanghai yesterday. “A deep market [...]
Polo in the Park to draw in the City crowd May 25, 2015 London’s summer social season will soon kick off in earnest when businesses leave the City to come out to support Chestertons Polo in the Park over the weekend starting 5 June. Now in its sixth year, the event, which takes place in Fulham, has become as much about networking as it has about the men [...]
Families hit the high street over bank holiday May 25, 2015 Britain’s high streets enjoyed a welcome boost over the bank holiday weekend as the warm weather and the start of the summer half term for many schools brought more people into stores. Footfall rose by 4.4 per cent over the weekend compared with the same time last year, overcoming the decline seen in recent months, [...]
Exclusivity clauses in zero hour contracts banned from today May 25, 2015 New rules banning exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts come into effect today, stopping employers from preventing hourly staff from working for another employer. The new provisions were first introduced under the last government, and championed by former business secretary Vince Cable. They were passed into law under the small business, enterprise and employment bill, [...]
Premium phone charges set to drop under new Ofcom rules May 25, 2015 CHARGES to premium phone lines are set to get a little bit cheaper under sweeping changes to be introduced in July by the communications regulator Ofcom. The new rules will affect phone numbers beginning with 08, 09 or 118, which are typically used by customer service and information lines as well as by directory enquiries. [...]
Japan Tobacco to sell £798m drink business to Suntory Beverage & Food May 25, 2015 Suntory Beverage & Food announced yesterday its intention to purchase Japan Tobacco Inc.’s drink and vending and machine businesses for close to ¥150bn (£798m). As part of the deal, Japan Tobacco which owns the Camel and Amber Leaf cigarette brands in the UK, will offload its shares in its subsidiaries Japan Beverage Holdings and JT [...]
Invoice delays top 107 days with construction firms taking the hit May 25, 2015 Businesses in construction and real estate were forced to wait over 15 weeks for invoice payments last year, despite the ongoing economic recovery. The new report, published today by the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), comes after recent research by insolvency trade body R3 revealed £41.5bn in late payments was owed to UK businesses [...]
Vatican Bank profits soar but it turns down wealth accumulation May 25, 2015 Scandal-hit lender the Vatican Bank yesterday reported surging profits for 2014, as its leaders continue to try to turn the troubled institution around. The bank, formally known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), made €69.3m (£49m) in the year, up from €2.7m in 2013. Of that profit, €15.3m is retained by the bank with [...]
Chrysler shares slide after GM merger rebuke May 25, 2015 SHARES in Fiat Chrysler slipped yesterday after reports a potential merger with General Motors (GM) has been rebuffed. The news follows an article in the New York Times which suggested Fiat Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne had proposed a deal with GM in March, only for his counterpart, Mary Barra to flat out refuse such [...]
