Northern SMEs and firms hit by hidden credit crunch November 9, 2015 Twice as many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the North of England have had their overdraft facilities axed as those in the London, according to research from business financial comparison site Funding Options. In the past two years 55 per cent of businesses in the North were found to have had their overdrafts [...]
UK new car registrations fall in October – as Volkswagen and Seat sales plummet November 5, 2015 The number of new cars registered in the UK fell by one per cent to 177,664 in October, figures by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed today. The biggest faller? Not surprisingly, brands owned by Volkswagen. Yep, according to the figures, VW sales were down 9.8 per cent, while sales of Seats [...]
Ford and General Motors US sales hit full speed – as Volkswagen eases on the brakes November 3, 2015 As the emissions scandal of Europe's largest car marker continues apace, across the pond, things have been rather less fraught, after both General Motors and Ford reported encouraging sales in October. Even Volkswagen managed to edge up… General Motors sold 262,993 cars in the US in October, 16 per cent higher than this time last year. [...]
Volkswagen emissions scandal hits sales in France November 2, 2015 The fallout from the Volkswagen emissions scandal is beginning to show up on sales reports. The German car maker recorded a drop in sales of VW branded cars of three per cent in France for October, figures out yesterday from the Committee of French Automobile Manufacturers (CCFA) showed. Sales of Volkswagen cars have been coming [...]
Code-switcher Sam Burgess will shun return to rugby league and continue union career, insists Bath coach Mike Ford October 29, 2015 BATH boss Mike Ford is convinced that Sam Burgess will shun any temptation to return to rugby league as speculation continues to rage over the code-switcher’s future. Burgess has two years remaining on his contract at Premiership side Bath but has been granted time off to consider his future after initially returning to training last [...]
Volkswagen’s share price rises as the company reports a net loss and admits earning targets for 2015 will be adjusted October 28, 2015 Volkswagen's share price rose three per cent in early trading as it reported a €1.67bn (£1.2bn) loss after tax for the third quarter. The loss was largely the result of the €6.7bn charge VW said it will take to cover the costs of the emissions crisis. Or, in its words, the "diesel issue". Last year VW reported a profit after tax [...]
Ford puts the brakes on Dow – New York Report October 27, 2015 Uncertainty over the US interest rate outlook and disappointing results from Ford and other companies yesterday weighed on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 41.62 points, or 0.24 per cent, to 17,581.43, the S&P 500 lost 5.29 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 2,065.89 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 4.56 points, or 0.09 per [...]
Justin Rose can turn this into a great year by winning the Race To Dubai October 26, 2015 It was a case of the cream rising to the top in Hong Kong on Sunday, where England’s Justin Rose claimed his first European Tour title of the year with a typically classy performance. In the end the pressure got to Lucas Bjerregard, and former US Open winner Rose demonstrated why he was the highest [...]
How to deal with irritations in the office and colleagues’ bad habits: Instead of criticising, think of a mutually beneficial solution October 20, 2015 Pungent food, loud music and talking on speakerphone – the bad habits of our colleagues can be distracting, increase friction within a team, and stifle productivity. On the tube, you can often just move down the carriage, but at work, getting away may be far harder, and open plan office spaces may expose us [...]
Rugby World Cup: Scotland launch robust appeal in aid of banned duo Ross Ford and Jonny Gray October 15, 2015 Scotland have promised a vigorous appeal against the suspensions handed out to forwards Ross Ford and Jonny Gray, which would rule them both out of the remainder of the World Cup. The duo were slapped with three-week bans for their illegal two-man tip-tackle on Samoa flanker Jack Lam, which precludes them from Sunday’s quarter-final clash [...]