General election announcement hurts October high street sales November 8, 2019 High street sales plummeted at the end of October despite a healthy start to the month after the announcement that the UK would head to the polls for a December general election. The first three weeks of the month saw retailers defy poor footfall and challenging weather conditions to boost like-for-like in-store sales. Read more: [...]
General election 2019: Tories unveil plan for Australian-style, points-based immigration system November 8, 2019 Boris Johnson is to tackle both the issues of health and immigration as the Conservatives unveil plans to introduce an Australian-style, points-based immigration system. The Prime Minister is to announce a new visa that aims to attract more doctors and nurses to the NHS following Brexit. The immigration points-based system is thought to be popular [...]
Spare a thought this winter for our poor under-valued MPs November 8, 2019 Why would anyone want to be an MP? If the number of prominent parliamentarians who have announced that they are standing down in this election — now more than 70, including some shock names like Philip Hammond, Amber Rudd, and Tom Watson — is any indication, that question is getting more complicated to answer. MPs, [...]
DEBATE: Should the London Stock Exchange cut its hours to improve work-life balance for traders? November 8, 2019 Should the London Stock Exchange cut its hours to improve work-life balance for traders? Galina Dimitrova, director of investment and capital markets at the Investment Association, says YES. Trading hours in the UK are 8am to 4:30pm GMT — some of the longest in the world. That doesn’t sound like a long day, but traders [...]
Hiring remains subdued amid uncertainty November 8, 2019 Hiring activity remained subdued last month as employers held tight amid the current Brexit uncertainty, according to a new report. Permanent staff appointments fell solidly at the start of the fourth quarter, with many employers choosing to cancel or postpone hiring until there was greater clarity over the outlook. Read more: Can business models like [...]
General Election 2019: Tory candidate throws in the towel after backlash from ‘unacceptable’ rape comments November 7, 2019 A Conservative election candidate who said that women should “keep their knickers on” during a conversation about rape has stood down from the contest. Nick Conrad, a BBC Radio Norfolk host, made a series of comments during a live debate about footballer Ched Evans, who was convicted of rape five years ago, before the sentence [...]
Wetherspoon faces backlash over Brexit campaign spending November 7, 2019 Investors have been urged to oppose JD Wetherspoon’s financial report over its failure to get shareholder approval for pro-Brexit spending. Influential shareholder advisory firm Pirc said Wetherspoon had not cleared referendum campaign spending, which included £94,856 on almost 2m pro-leave beer mats ahead of the 2016 vote. Read more: Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin slams elite [...]
Commerzbank forecasts profit drop amid challenging conditions November 7, 2019 Commerzbank has warned that its profit for the year will be below previous expectations, as lower for longer interest rates take their toll on the German banking giant. Citing the negative impact of monetary policy and geopolitical uncertainty, the lender said that net profit for the year would be lower than last year. Read more: [...]
Brexit inspires Collins’ first-ever ‘Brexicon’ November 7, 2019 The Collins Dictionary put a spin on its annual word of the year announcement today by releasing its ‘Brexicon’, a list of ten words brought to prominence by Brexit – “for better or for worse.” ‘Cakeism’ – a wish to enjoy two desirable and incompatible alternatives – rubs shoulders with ‘Brexiety’ – a state of [...]
Pound sinks as Bank of England comes closer to interest rate cut November 7, 2019 The pound fell sharply this afternoon as the Bank of England came closer to signalling an interest rate cut. The Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee voted in favour of holding rates for the 15th month in a row, but traders were surprised as two members voted for an immediate rate cut. Read more: Bank of England: [...]