Pupils with poor GCSEs forced to study English and maths until 18 September 1, 2013 TEENAGERS who fail to achieve a C grade or better in GCSE English and maths will have to continue to study the subjects, the government will announced today. The rule change means that 16-year-olds who fail to achieve a good pass in the two core subjects will have to make moves towards resitting the exams [...]
Gold flight from British vaults September 1, 2013 BRITAIN sold an estimated 797 tonnes of gold to overseas buyers in the first six months of the year, with Chinese and Indian buyers snapping up a record amount of British reserves. The figures, from Macquarie, mean an estimated $37bn-worth of gold has gone overseas. The World Gold Council said rising consumer demand for jewellery [...]
UK lenders pay £1bn for Iceland banks’ collapse September 1, 2013 BRITISH banks yesterday paid the first of three multi-million pound cheques to cover the bill for savers rescued in the wake of the Icelandic banking crash five years ago. The UK government stepped in to bail out depositors who lost out when the banks collapsed in 2008. The Icelandic deposit protection scheme gave compensation of [...]
Pro-business London beats Paris to title of best capital in Europe September 1, 2013 LONDON’S status as a business centre and its high quality of life mean other countries see it as the “capital of Europe,” according to an Ipsos Mori poll to be published this week. The capital was voted third best city to live in, fourth for tourists and fifth for business, making it the most consistent [...]
Italian tax on high frequency trading begins September 1, 2013 ITALY will today bring into force its tax on high-frequency trading, after introducing levies on certain equity derivatives earlier this year. The Eurozone nation said in February that it will impose the financial transactions tax in stages, making it the first country in the currency bloc to use such a toll. The high-frequency trading element [...]
Weight loss pays out in Dubai September 1, 2013 A DIETING challenge in Dubai has proved to be worth its weight in gold – quite literally – this weekend. Dieters in the emirate have just completed a five week weight-loss challenge set by the government, which rewards the biggest losers with grams of the precious metal. The “No Wealth Without Health” challenge saw hundreds [...]
Pizza and a Hot Dog for charity traders September 1, 2013 A HOT dog and pizza were order of the day at UKForex’s annual charity trading event this year. The firm’s City staff and pets donned superhero costumes, with Super Dog beating rival pet pooch Hot Dog, along with Spiderman, Wonder Woman and Superman to the best dressed prize. Food wasn’t themed, so there were no [...]
Unfair contract complaints hit five-year high September 1, 2013 CONSUMER complaints about unfair contract terms increased again in 2012-13, reaching a five-year high, up by 46 per cent in the past four years. According to law firm Pinsent Masons, in the most recent financial year there were 289 complaints lodged about alleged unfair contract terms to the Financial Services Authority (FSA), which became the [...]
UK’s top law firms grow profits amid consolidation in the sector September 1, 2013 THE UK’s 100 largest law firms made combined profits of £5.8bn in 2012-13, according to new data, an eight per cent increase on the previous year amid a flurry of M&A activity among the sector. Research out this week from Legal Business magazine also shows that the top segment of the UK’s legal market billed [...]
Digitising Whitehall could save taxpayers up to £24bn a year September 1, 2013 CIVIL servants should eliminate the use of paper when interacting with the public and model their working practices on internet start-ups, according to a report released today. Influential think tank Policy Exchange says the existing Whitehall model is failing to take advantage of technological change. It believes that if the state can match the productivity [...]
