London calling boosts demand at Whitbread September 10, 2013 WHITBREAD chief executive Andy Harrison said yesterday that the return of UK businesspeople and regular foreign tourists has helped to boost revenues at its Premier Inn hotels, despite expectations of a slump after last year’s Olympics. Like-for-like sales across the budget hotel chain grew by 2.9 per cent in the first half of the [...]
Dyson claims Samsung cleaner ripped off its vacuum technology September 10, 2013 DYSON, the British manufacturer, is suing Samsung for allegedly ripping off the technology in its vacuum cleaners. Samsung revealed the Motion Sync vacuum cleaner at Berlin’s consumer trade exhibition IFA last week. Dyson founder Sir James Dyson yesterday labelled Samsung’s vacuum “a cynical rip-off”. The dispute centers around Dyson’s patent on a steering mechanism for [...]
Libor fixers and lying traders to face €5m fines September 10, 2013 EUROPEAN MPs yesterday approved plans for huge fines for traders who manipulate energy and financial markets, the latest stage in the crackdown after Libor and energy market rigging scandals. Those found guilty of market abuse could be fined up to €5m (£4.2m) and be banned from working in the sector in future. And the companies [...]
Lagarde warns governments not to depend on easy cash forever September 10, 2013 EUROPE’S governments must push ahead with the banking union plans to solve some of the economy’s underlying problems, International Monetary Fund (IMF) boss Christine Lagarde said yesterday. She warned them off permanently relying on easy money from the European Central Bank (ECB) which has mitigated some of their problems in the short term. “We very [...]
Top ECB official calls for more transparency September 10, 2013 PUBLISHING monthly minutes of the European Central Bank’s (ECB) meetings would increase transparency and help make policy decisions clear to markets, top official Jorg Asmussen said yesterday. The Bank of England and Federal Reserve both publish minutes after every meeting, giving markets more guidance on how their monetary policy decisions were made. The publications also [...]
Labour to vote on state control for Royal Mail September 10, 2013 TRADE unionists yesterday pledged to take the fight against the Royal Mail sell-off to the wire – and said they would call on Labour leader Ed Miliband to commit to renationalising the postal service if he wins the next general election. Dave Ward of the Communications Workers Union told the Trades Union Congress (TUC) his [...]
Top Lib Dem backs wealth levy to fund a raise in tax threshold September 10, 2013 DAVID Laws yesterday said the Liberal Democrats will need to introduce new taxes on wealth before they can fund further income tax cuts. Speaking ahead of next week’s party conference, the education minister said there would need to be a “rebalancing of the tax system” towards levies on property if the party is to up [...]
Watchdog tells gyms to make contracts fairer September 10, 2013 GYM members will be able to cancel their contracts more easily, after the Office of Fair Trading struck a deal with LA Fitness, Dave Whelan Sports and gym management firm Harlands Group. The companies have agreed to let customers end their membership if they lose their job or suffer an injury, and have pledged to [...]
Portas says pilot towns will fail without government action September 10, 2013 RETAIL expert and television presenter Mary Portas yesterday conceded that the chosen Portas Pilot towns would need more than funds to be revived and “could never truly succeed” without full government action. Portas’ review to save ailing high streets published last year has helped to create 27 so-called Portas Pilots – areas that have received [...]
Record-breaking hybrids take an early lead at Frankfurt September 10, 2013 HIGH-POWERED hybrid models have impressed motorists at the 65th Frankfurt Auto Show this week, with new vehicles from Porsche, BMW and Audi. Porsche unveiled the 918 Spyder, the £657,400 vehicle that has this week set a new record for a production car on the famous Nurburgring race track. BMW showed off its new i8, alongside [...]
