UK national rail strike: Bank holiday train chaos likely to hit brand reputations for all players – Brand Index May 19, 2015 Network Rail workers last Friday announced their plans to strike from 5pm on bank holiday Monday in a row over pay. Should it go ahead, it will be the first UK-wide rail strike for 20 years. It follows a vote for action from RMT union members, but has been condemned by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin. [...]
Grexit odds have shortened again May 19, 2015 If Alexis Tspiras is a betting man he might be hoping for better odds than these. Bookmaker Paddy Power now believes there is a 40 per cent chance of Greece leaving the Eurozone this year. The odds of a Grexit have been shortening across the board. Paddy Power has it priced at 6/4, while [...]
Bernard Matthews in hunt for £10m rescue May 17, 2015 Struggling poultry supplier Bernard Matthews is seeking £10m in order to stay afloat just 16 months after being rescued by a private equity firm. The company has been trying to stem losses ever since 2007 when its stock of birds was struck by avian flu. Bernard Matthews was thrown a life-line by private equity investors [...]
Unite boss Len McCluskey says Scottish Labour made Tory victory “certain” May 14, 2015 Len McCluskey, head of the Unite Union, says it is because of Scottish Labour that the Conservatives won the General Election. Speaking to Newsnight, he said party leader Jim Murphy had “made certain” that Labour would lose, and that he should now “leave the scene”. Support for the party plunged across Scotland last week, [...]
Beware under-insurance: Four in five people don’t have adequate coverage for their precious things May 12, 2015 Do you have adequate insurance for the contents of your home in the event of a disaster? Probably not. Research suggests four in every five high net worth individuals is under-insured, according to Oak Underwriting. Another study from Datamonitor put the figure slightly lower, at 70-75 per cent of wealthier homeowners – but still a [...]
General Election 2015: Tory election victory triggers London luxury property market surge as mansion tax fears dissolve May 10, 2015 In the hours after it became clear that the Tories had won a majority government at the general election, London estate agents reported a surge in luxury property sales as buyers' fears over Labour's proposed mansion tax were allayed. Over £100m worth of top-end central London property was sold on a frenzied Friday as estate [...]
Q & A: Could we see a second general election before christmas? May 7, 2015 Q Who decides when the UK holds its General Elections? A Prime Ministers used to be able to call a General Election whenever they wanted. But new legislation enacted in 2011, called the Fixed-term Parliaments Act (FTPA), changed that. The FTPA stipulates that General Elections are held every five years, on the first Thursday in May. [...]
Superdry label owner closes year in style May 6, 2015 SHARES in Supergroup surged 7.4 per cent yesterday after the owner of the Superdry fashion brand posted a strong finish to the year and said it was still on track to meet its profit forecasts. The retailer said group sales rose by 18.4 per cent to £134.8m in the 15 weeks to 25 April. Like-for-like [...]
Nick Clegg warns of second election if Lib Dems not in government May 5, 2015 Nick Clegg has warned that the country could be forced to hold a second election before Christmas, if his party is not in government as part of a coalition. The Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister said that “everybody knows that no one will win this election.” Clegg said: “The last thing Britain needs [...]
Network Rail bosses spent millions on flights because its cheaper than train travel April 29, 2015 Planes, trains, or automobiles? You may think you know where Network Rail stands when it comes to choosing the best way to travel, but think again. The company has spent millions of pounds ferrying staff from one end of the country to the other – by plane. The public sector body, which runs the nation's [...]