Uber boss issues apology following heated argument with driver, and says it’s time to grow up March 1, 2017 Travis Kalanick has issued an apology after a video was published showing the Uber boss in a heated argument with a driver over the app's pay rates. "To say that I am ashamed is an extreme understatement," said the 40-year-old chief exec. "My job as your leader is to lead…and that starts with behaving in [...]
Transport for London turned a blind eye to the discrimination caused by new writing tests, Uber lawyer tells court March 1, 2017 Uber has today accused Transport for London (TfL) of burying its head in the sand when assessing the level of discrimination involved in its proposed English language testing. The tech giant is challenging the legal basis for rules proposed by TfL which would require private hire drivers to take a written English language test. Legal eagles for [...]
BHS pension scheme: Sir Philip Green has said he will contribute £363m, but what happens next? February 28, 2017 Sir Philip Green might be paying up £363m to sort out the gap in the BHS pension schemes, but that’s not the end of the saga for the fallen retailer. What options do those with BHS pensions now have? The 19,000 scheme members have three options to mull; transferring to a newly created pension scheme, [...]
Virgin Money chief exec Jayne-Anne Gadhia: Brexit made us shelf plans for small business banking, but it might have worked out in our favour February 28, 2017 A series of unforeseen events means Virgin Money might be better off after having to drop a deal to go into small business banking because of Brexit. The challenger bank had been due to acquire an asset finance business, which would have allowed it to expand its offering into small business banking, but changed its [...]
Fraud squad lawyer tells court two ex-Barclays traders accused of Libor rigging treated honesty as if it were expendable February 28, 2017 A lawyer acting for the fraud squad told a court today that two ex-Barclays traders accused of Libor rigging treated honesty as if it were expendable. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which is prosecuting the case, has claimed Stylianos Contogoulas, 45, and Ryan Reich, 35, played roles in a conspiracy to fix the benchmark rate between 1 June [...]
Virgin Money increases profits, as Brexit yet to wobble the business February 28, 2017 Virgin Money said profits grew during 2016, as any Brexit fallout was yet to hit the challenger's bottom line. The figures The bank, whose business ambition is to make "everyone better off", reported statutory profits before tax of £194.4m, up 41 per cent compared with £138m in 2015. The increase in underlying profits before tax was [...]
Battle lines drawn over London Stock Exchange mega-merger as neither company nor EU budges February 27, 2017 The City is holding its breath to see who will blink first in the battle between the European Commission and the London Stock Exchange (LSE), in the case of the latter's £21bn mega-merger with Deutsche Boerse. LSE published a statement late last night saying it now expects the EU to block the deal. The tie-up was [...]
Slater and Gordon reports a half-year loss, and points the finger at poor reputation in the UK February 27, 2017 Australian-listed law firm Slater and Gordon revealed a loss in its half-year results today, pinning at least some of the blame on its reputation in the UK. The figures The firm reported a net loss after tax of AU$425.1m (£262.4m), an improvement of 56 per cent compared with AU$958.3m for the same period the year before. [...]
Top German central banker Andreas Dombret says he wants a “pragmatic” Brexit February 27, 2017 A top German banking executive has said he wants a "pragmatic" Brexit, playing down claims that other member states are looking to punish the UK for voting to leave the EU. Various cities across the EU have been vying to steal away pieces of London's financial sector, as many in the industry fret about what access rights [...]
