Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew has died, aged 91 March 23, 2015 LEE KUAN Yew, Singapore’s first Prime Minister, has died aged 91, triggering a flood of tributes to the man who oversaw the tiny city-state’s rapid rise from a British colonial backwater to a global trade and financial center. US President Barack Obama described Lee, who ruled Singapore for three decades, as “a true giant of [...]
Asia cities gain ground as top financial centres March 23, 2015 ASIAN cities are rapidly growing in importance as global financial centres as Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul narrow the gap with their Western competitors, a new report shows. Eleven of the top 12 Asia and Asia-Pacific centres saw a rise in their ratings in the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) published today with Hong [...]
CityFibre asks watchdog to level playing field after BT-EE merger March 23, 2015 High speed fibre optic firm CityFibre has attacked BT, saying its planned acquisition of EE would “stifle innovation” and “deliver little tangible benefit for consumers”. CityFibre revealed the objection this morning, saying that it submitted a formal complaint to the Competition Markets Authority (CMA) on Friday. The company demanded Ofcom be allowed to enforce extra [...]
King Richard III finally gets royal send-off March 23, 2015 Huge crowds gathered in Leicester yesterday to watch the funeral procession of King Richard III, whose remains have been placed at Leicester Cathedral ahead of his reburial on Thursday. The king’s skeletal remains were found underneath a car park in 2012.
General Election 2015: Tories pin hopes on right-to-buy housing boost March 23, 2015 The Conservatives could extend right-to-buy rules to include housing association tenants as part of their upcoming manifesto. Housing is likely to be a key area of debate in the run-up to May’s crunch General Election. The right-to-buy policy was first brought in by Margaret Thatcher. It gave council tenants the right to buy their council [...]
It’s the economy, stupid… At least for Londoners on Facebook March 23, 2015 The economy was the most talked about election topic in London over the first 10 weeks of 2015, new data from tech giant Facebook has revealed. Overall though it was health that dominated general election conversations across the country. The NHS was the most talked about election-related topic in 377 of 650 constituencies, including those [...]
MPs demand a change to rules over insolvency following City Link collapse March 23, 2015 The collapse of delivery firm City Link over Christmas shows the insolvency system is flawed and mistreats contract workers, two influential groups of MPs claimed today. It can be cheaper for firms to pay a fine for breaking the rules, rather than to give workers the proper notice of redundancy, the Business, Innovation and Skills [...]
Confederation of British Industry warns politicians: Don’t let election halt UK growth March 23, 2015 Britain’s biggest business group will this morning warn politicians against allowing post-election uncertainty to derail the country’s impressive economic growth. The UK is facing the tightest General Election in decades on 7 May, with many polls showing no party in line for a clear majority. And even if a coalition needs to be formed, the [...]
Cable wants to bring in e-voting for trade union strike ballots March 23, 2015 BUSINESS secretary Vince Cable is pushing proposals so that trade union members can cast their vote in strike ballots online, as opposed to ballot papers sent in the post. This would require a change of law, and is likely to be in the Liberal Democrat manifesto. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady welcomed the move, saying: [...]
Index Ventures backs Daniel Gandesha’s tech start-up Property Partner March 23, 2015 Index Ventures, the venture capital firm behind Just Eat and Candy Crush Saga-maker King Digital, has given £5.2m backing to a crowdfunding platform that allows retail investors to tap into the UK’s residential market. Property Partner, founded by the ex-head of startup investment at BSkyB Daniel Gandesha, gives smaller backers the chance to invest sums [...]
