HMRC hits back at suggestions by Andrew Tyrie of heavy handed tactics in cracking down on tax avoidance February 25, 2017 Tax authorities have dismissed claims by the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee that it acted in a heavy handed manner, causing people "very severe financial distress". Andrew Tyrie has written to chancellor Philip Hammond to highlight concerns about the way HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) cracked down on people who had arranged their financial affairs by using tax [...]
Storm Doris: Insurers reveal a spike in claims after the UK’s worst storm of 2017 makes landfall February 24, 2017 The insurance sector has started to count the cost of the 100mph plus gales that have lashed the British Isles over the last few days. Storm Doris has led to a spike in activity for insurers, primarily in relation to land and buildings cover, with one provider saying it had already seen a 300 per cent increase in [...]
Southern rail claims victory over the RMT, giving itself a pat on the back for its service February 24, 2017 Southern rail has labelled the ongoing industrial action by the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) as "impotent and ineffective", while bragging about how many trains it had managed to run in spite of the strikes. The RMT held its latest walkout on Wednesday, this time a 24-hour downing of tools, taking its tally to 29 strikes. Fears have resurfaced that [...]
Standard Life shares muted despite beating expectations with nine per cent profit growth February 24, 2017 Standard Life's share price was somewhat muted this morning despite beating expectations with a nine per cent increase in profits. Shares in the firm initially jumped before falling by 3.5 per cent by midday. The figures Fee based revenue grew by five per cent to £1.7bn and assets under management swelled – up 16 per cent to £357bn. [...]
5G to come to central London in 2017: New routers could spell the end of fixed line broadband February 24, 2017 5G networks will be trialled in central London later this year with telecoms infrastructure firm Arqiva teaming up with boffins at Samsung to develop the new technology. Britain is in the process of dragging itself into the 21st century by developing the country’s fixed line superfast fibre access. But fixed access 5G points to be tested by Samsung [...]
William Hill reveals encouraging signs after a year to forget in 2016 February 24, 2017 William Hill put on a brave face on its full-year performance this morning with the firm's share price rising nearly one per cent after the bookmaker delivered figures that were in line its revised guidance. The figures Net revenue was up one per cent to £1.6bn but adjusted operating profits dived 10 per cent to £262m. [...]
Telenor to shell out in costly Indian exit after failing to deal with heightened competition February 23, 2017 Telenor is to exit the Indian market, selling its operations to Bharti Airtel in a deal that will require the Norweigian telecoms giant to put a cash injection of hundreds of millions of pounds into the Indian firm. Bharti Airtel is India's largest telecoms network operator and the consolidation is hot on the heels of news that Vodafone is in [...]
No more deals: Axa to decline future acquisitions after blasting through the €100bn barrier February 23, 2017 France's largest insurer Axa is big enough and is not eyeing any future transactions, especially as "Frexit is a probability", its chief executive said today. Passing the €100bn (£84bn) revenue barrier for the first time, Axa revealed in its annual results underlying growth of in earnings of four per cent to €5.7bn. Read more: Axa UK's chief [...]
RSA boss Stephen Hester explains the real driving force behind the firm’s success February 23, 2017 RSA’s boss has revealed the secret of the firm’s success: the 2013 crisis that led to nearly a third being wiped off its market capitalisation. The insurer today beat market expectations with its 2016 results after a year that has seen the firm’s share price increase by 40 per cent already, with shares advancing five per [...]
Briton arrested in connection with a Deutsche Telekom cyber attack that hit 900,000 customers February 23, 2017 The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has arrested a suspect at one of London's airports in connection with November's cyber attack on Deutsche Telekom. The 29-year-old Briton was arrested on Wednesday in response to a European arrest warrant. The cyber attack targeted the routers of 900,000 Deutsche Telekom customers leading to internet outages for around 4.5 per [...]
