Beware, Sid – Lloyds sale could be tricky April 19, 2015 A big retail offering of Lloyds shares is on the cards. Large-scale privatisation is back. David Cameron is promising a £4bn sale of Lloyds shares to retail customers, swapping one big government shareholder for thousands of individuals. An instant comparison is with the 1980s. Giant firms like BT, BP and British Gas were taken out [...]
Duffy’s passing gives metro paws for thought April 19, 2015 THE CAPITALIST never likes to be the bearer of bad news, but this item does have a twist in the tail. Sir Duffield ‘Duffy’, Metro Bank’s chief canine officer – yes, really – went to the big kennel in the sky recently. But never fear, the bank has a new CCO… also called Duffy, or [...]
Giles Morgan on how sport’s dynamic blaze of colour can bring a bank’s values to life April 19, 2015 HSBC’s Global Head of Sponsorship and Events tackles his firm’s support for rugby, right down to the grassroots level. Giles Morgan is not your average spokesman for a major sporting sponsor. He’s knowledgeable, forthright, and is more than happy to put a few noses out of joint if he doesn’t like what he sees going [...]
General Election 2015: Labour’s Ed Balls refuses to rule out corporation tax rise April 19, 2015 Ed Balls has refused to rule out a rise in corporation tax if Labour wins the general election in three weeks’ time. The Labour shadow chancellor refused to rule out a further increase in corporation tax to the one per cent already pledged by the party when questioned on Sky News’ Murnaghan show. The current [...]
All Nippon Airways unveil Star Wars jet as Japanese airliner adds to Pokemon planes April 17, 2015 It might not take you to a galaxy far, far away or zoom you into hyperspace like the Millennium Falcon, but All Nippon Airways' Star Wars jet will nevertheless excite your inner geek more than anything else in the skies. As part of a five-year Star Wars project, the Japanese carrier will deck one of its brand-new Boeing [...]
Dixons Carphone to sell German phone retail business to Drillisch April 15, 2015 DIXONS Carphone shares climbed two per cent yesterday after the high street giant announced it will sell its German retail phone chain to telecoms firm Drillisch. The Phone House operates 30 shops under its own brand and another 50 stores for Deutsche Telekom and generates annual sales of about €350m. Dixons Carphone did not disclose [...]
Dixons Carphone share price rises as it announces disposal of German business April 15, 2015 High street giant Dixons Carphone today announced plans to sell its German phone retail business to telecoms firm Drillisch. The FTSE 100 retailer said it will dispose of The Phone House Deutschland before the end of May, in a deal under which Dixons Carphone will receive a three per cent stake in Drillisch, with potential further deferred [...]
Conservative manifesto: David Cameron gives “absolutely no detail” of major cuts, says IFS April 14, 2015 The plan David Cameron hopes will win the Tories the General Election back has been blasted by the independent Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) over a "lack of detail". The Tory leader presented his party's manifesto in a speech delivered in Swindon earlier today. The document was brimming with goodies for the electorate, including an [...]
UK inflation: Last time it was at zero in 1989, it was measured by the prices of swiss roll, tracksuits and luncheon meat April 14, 2015 The last time inflation was this low, shoppers' baskets were overflowing with Swiss rolls, shell suits and tins of luncheon meat. Yum. Prices fell 0.01 per cent in March, figures published today by the Office for National Statistics revealed. Although that figure means inflation is still technically zero per cent, it's nevertheless the lowest since records began [...]
General Election 2015: Labour border clash over cuts in manifesto April 13, 2015 The Labour party sought to defend its economic credibility yesterday, even as polling showed them facing a wipeout in their Scottish heartland in the face of anti-cuts campaigning. A poll conducted by TNS showed the majority of Scots backing the Scottish National Party (SNP). Support for Nicola Sturgeon’s party has doubled over the last [...]