The Royal Family is worth £1.8bn to the UK economy every year says report November 20, 2017 Britain’s royalty contributes nearly £1.8bn to the UK economy every year, according to a new analysis of the value of the monarchy to be published today. The biggest single benefit offered by the monarchy to UK economy comes in a £550m annual boost to tourism, according to Brand Finance research. The total monetary value of [...]
UK retains seventh spot in ease of doing business ranking October 31, 2017 The UK retained its spot as the seventh best nation in the world for ease of doing business, according to an influential ranking published today. The US leapfrogged the UK to move up to sixth overall, according to the 15th annual Doing Business report from the World Bank, published today. In 2015 the UK came [...]
Wood Group completes £2.2bn takeover of Amec Foster Wheeler October 9, 2017 Wood Group has completed its merger with Amec Foster Wheeler, the FTSE-250-listed oilfield services firm announced today. The £2.2bn takeover had been held up by the Competition and Markets Authority, but the regulator waved the deal through in September after Amec Foster Wheeler agreed to sell some North Sea assets. The integration of the two [...]
Goldman Sachs enters British savings market September 27, 2017 S investment banking giant Goldman Sachs today entered the British savings market with a leading rate which will add to pressure on incumbents. The bank's Marcus brand, named after one of its founders, will offer an annual equivalent rate of 1.5 per cent, which includes a 12-month bonus rate of 0.15 per cent. The [...]
London businesses suffer the highest level of employee frauds in the UK September 18, 2017 British businesses lost at least £40m last year from frauds perpetrated by their own employees, with London accounting for the largest chunk by far, new data published today has revealed. Losses from employee fraud were highest in the Greater London area covered by the Metropolitan Police, at £7m in 2016/17, according to government figures obtained [...]
The new voice of British banking: UK Finance launches today with new board members revealed July 3, 2017 The British finance industry will be publicly represented from today by a single new body, UK Finance, after the merger of six separate lobby groups. The new body, which officially starts operations today at Angel Court, behind the Bank of England, will represent over 300 British firms providing credit, banking, markets and payments services. The [...]
Buried treasure: The British shadow economy is worth £200bn June 29, 2017 The British shadow economy accounted for more than £200bn last year, according to new estimates of goods and services kept away from the eyes of authorities. The murky world of the legal goods and services deliberately concealed from governments was worth 11.3 per cent of the UK’s GDP in 2016, according to the Association of [...]
What will happen to sterling if Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour wins the General Election? We asked the experts May 26, 2017 Labour has surged in the polls in the last fortnight, closing the Conservative party lead to as little as five points. The pound moved in the opposite direction against the dollar as traders started to consider the previously unthinkable: a Labour General Election victory. Before everyone gets too excited, it should be remembered that Labour [...]
George Osborne’s successor Philip Hammond will have a say in whether he can take his new job as Evening Standard editor March 17, 2017 Chancellor Philip Hammond will play a direct part in the decision made by the government’s Advisory Committee on Business Appointments (Acoba) on his predecessor George Osborne’s new role as editor of the Evening Standard. Acoba, the body tasked with scrutinising appointments, will ask relevant government departments for their opinions on whether the new job will [...]
Euro falls against the US dollar after construction fall hints at weakness in recovery March 17, 2017 The euro fell sharply today against the US dollar as new data cast doubt on the narrative of an uptick in economic activity in the European Union. The euro fell to lows of $1.0728 against the dollar after having reached highs of $1.078 earlier this morning. Construction in the Eurozone dipped markedly in January, falling [...]
