Shire Pharmaceuticals offers more cash in a bid to woo rival Baxalta December 20, 2015 Pharmaceutical giant Shire has not given up hope in its proposed takeover of US drug firm Baxalta. The Irish company could increase the cash element of its bid in order to move things along with its rival, which has resisted Shire’s overtures since the summer. The £8bn cash booster, which was first reported in the Sunday [...]
Winter sun put on ice for holidaymakers as December is named as the month with the longest flight delays December 20, 2015 Those hoping for a little bit of winter sunshine might find themselves basking in the glow of the airport's Pret a Manger for longer than they'd bargained for, as research out today has found that December is the worst month for long flight delays. A study by Which? discovered that 3.5m passenger flights were delayed by [...]
Countdown to Christmas: From Volkswagen’s emissions scandal and Ed Ball’s surprise defeat at the General Election to the Paris terror attacks, these are the most surprising news stories of 2015 December 20, 2015 Some news you register with perhaps a shrug of the shoulder, while other stories might prompt an arched eyebrow. There are some events, however, that make you sit up and pay attention. This year was not without a few of those key moments – good and bad – that gripped us. Here are the most [...]
Research shows Women in the City expect to earn smaller bonus than male counterparts – Astbury Marsden December 19, 2015 Christmas bonus season is upon us, but sorry ladies, we’ve got bad news for women hoping to get a large bonus in this year’s stocking. Women in the City are expecting to take home far less than their male counterparts, not just in absolute numbers, but also as a proportion of their salary. While men [...]
Panic Saturday is here: 12.6m Britons hit the shops for busiest day of Christmas shopping as sales start early at M&S, Sports Direct, H&M, Argos and Sainsbury’s December 19, 2015 Brace yourselves, Panic Saturday is here. If you still haven’t bought your Christmas presents, be prepared for crowds. A stampede of last minute Christmas shoppers are bearing down on UK retailers today, making it the busiest day of this year’s Christmas shopping. 12.6 million Britons are forecast to hit the shops, spending over £1.1bn on [...]
From Star Wars and the Fed rate rise and UK housing crisis to Chelsea’s crisis and Sports Direct’s working practices: Here’s what got us talking this week December 19, 2015 There were some outrageous predictions for 2016. Our homes got a bit smarter. And somewhere, floating over our heads, there was a British man in space. Here's what got us talking this week 1) We learned where you can buy a home And for those on less than £43,000, London is out of bounds. And things are [...]
Top business books of 2015: From Walter Isaacson’s Innovators to The Untold Story of Bitcoin, here’s your Christmas reading list December 19, 2015 It’s been another roller-coaster year for businesses in 2015. From plummeting oil prices to an impending interest rate hike, authors have done their best to educate their readership on… well, pretty much anything. Here are our favourite reads of 2015. You’ll find a little bit of everything for everyone – from advice on time-management to inspiration on becoming the next big entrepreneur. Innovators: [...]
Xbox down: Hacker group Phantom Squad takes responsibility for attack December 18, 2015 A group of hackers known as the Phantom Squad have claimed responsibility for taking Xbox Live down earlier today. The Microsoft gaming network suffered an outage early Friday morning, which the group said it was behind, claiming that the gaming giant doesn't "bother working on security", according to ZDNet. Xbox services were running normally within a [...]
No kidding: Britons feel ripped off at Christmas December 18, 2015 The holiday season is a time for cheer, but it’s also a time for scepticism, impulse decisions and stress, if new figures are to be believed. More than half of Britons feel that they’re more likely to be ripped off when buying Christmas presents, according to the study by Trustpilot, a global online review community. The report also found [...]
Storm Desmond cost £520m – as insurers shell out £2.6m in emergency payments December 18, 2015 Almost two weeks after the event, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has finally put a price tag on the havoc wreaked by Storm Desmond: the flooding is likely to cost insurers £520m, it said today. Thousands were evacuated, with thousands more left without power as Storm Desmond passed through Cumbria and the Scottish borders at the beginning [...]