Monte dei Paschi bailout: Under certain conditions, Italian state aid can be signed off by EU authorities December 23, 2016 The Italian bailout of lender Monte dei Paschi may not be in breach of EU state aid rules, officials have confirmed. Overnight the Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni confirmed the lender – the oldest surviving bank in the world – had to go cap in hand to the government saying it needed to dip into €20bn (£17bn) of [...]
Beat the January rail price hike: 10 ways to find cheaper train tickets December 23, 2016 Imagine the scene: It's 2 January, you're feeling a bit bloated and jaded after a week of Christmas excesses. You turn up to the rail station with a heavy heart as the reality of work sets in. The queues to renew your season ticket are horrendous and in the line of morose commuters you can [...]
Britain’s third quarter GDP growth revised: Financial services provide better than expected growth December 23, 2016 Britain's third quarter growth has been revised up – but in an official shake-up of the figures year-on-year growth has fallen. The UK's GDP growth in the third quarter had previously been reported as 0.5 per cent but today updated statistics revised this up to 0.6 per cent. However, the official statistics for the first [...]
Brexit, six months on: City leader demands government allays uncertainty in the Square Mile December 23, 2016 Doesn't time fly? Just six months ago half the nation was celebrating the Britain's decision to unshackle itself from the EU, while the other half had that knot in the pit-in-the-stomach feeling. The good news so far is the sky hasn't fallen in. And this was after 2016 continued to shock and surprise us from a [...]
Consumers wary about creeping inflation in 2017 hitting household budgets December 23, 2016 Consumer confidence has flopped to its lowest levels since the Brexit vote with inflationary pressures starting to bite, according to leading group of economists. Concern about what the next 12 months will bring for household finances drove confidence to down by one point in November – it is at its lowest levels since July, a poll by YouGov and the [...]
Bitcoin market cap smashes through $14bn barrier: Equivalent to the average market cap of a FTSE 100 firm December 22, 2016 Bitcoin prices today leapt by five per cent, breaking records for the overall value of the digital currency in existence and taking its price to the highest level for three years. Around 12.5 new Bitcoins come into circulation every 10 minutes. And this meant today the today market capitalisation of bitcoins broke through the $14bn [...]
Storm Barbara: UK insurance firm says inclement weather won’t stop Santa December 22, 2016 One the UK's most respected insurance firms has confirmed that Father Christmas will be able to deliver presents, spreading joy to billions of children around the world. JLT Re has a crack-squad of forecasters on hand to predict when the next major weather disaster could hit planet earth. Read more: Storm Barbara to hit the UK's great [...]
Southern rail court documents reveal Aslef has grander plans on driver-operated doors December 22, 2016 The drivers union at the centre of the Southern rail dispute doesn't simply want to stop further roll out of driver-operated doors, it is determined to ban the policy across all train services. The question of who operates Southern rail train doors is pivotal in the dispute that has led to waves of industrial action and blighted the network for much [...]
Storm Barbara to batter the UK threatening Christmas travel plans December 22, 2016 The great Christmas getaway is under threat as 90mph winds are forecast to hit the UK just as the festive season commences. The Met Office has warned Storm Barbara will bring "severe or hazardous weather" to the Grampian and Highland regions of Scotland. Many parts of southern England were blanketed in fog earlier this morning. Together [...]
Virgin Media boss is baffled by broadband windfall, saying it conflicts with Ofcom plans December 22, 2016 Virgin Media has hit back at news of a £440m broadband boost to the remote parts of Britain. The government announced today more money would be ploughed back into the country's telecoms infrastructure as a result of better than expected demand for superfast broadband in the hard to reach areas. The money is a rebate from [...]
