British shopper loads could lighten in race to roll out driverless vehicles September 6, 2015 BRITISH shoppers and businesses could save a fortune if haulage companies start using driverless technology, a new report has revealed. The study found that the advent of automated, driverless vehicles in the courier and haulage sectors could deliver nearly £34bn in savings in a decade, significantly lightening the load for companies if those savings are [...]
No more calculus: New real-life maths exam will teach students interest rates for A-Levels September 3, 2015 Maths geared toward real-life situations will now be as a subject for 16-year-olds, the department for education revealed yesterday. Core maths will teach pupils how to apply their maths skills to calculate interest, work out profit margins and get the best currency exchange, and will start being taught in schools today. The course [...]
Co-operative Group says investments in its turnaround will hit full-year profits September 3, 2015 The Co-operative Group has warned full-year profits are likely to be lower than 2014 is ramps up investment as part of a radical overhaul of the business following one of the most turbulent periods in its history. The company, which operates everything from supermarkets to funerals, has been fighting to restore its fortunes following the [...]
The Walkie Talkie is a glorious building and the Carbuncle Cup jury are just architectural snobs September 3, 2015 Most of the critics of Rafael Viñoly's “Walkie Talkie” at 20 Fenchurch Street are other architects or professional moaners. Laypeople, like the City workers milling around the building at lunchtime, are more amenable. As if to prove my point, Sir Simon Jenkins, a vocal and consistent critic of, well, just about anything built since bricks [...]
Baby brokers? Londoners don’t feel grown-up till they reach 30 September 3, 2015 Are Canary Wharf brokerages overrun with kids? New research has revealed that despite the legal age of adulthood being 18, the average Londoner doesn’t count themselves as a “grown-up” before they’re 30. As an increasing number of City firms hires new recruits straight from school at 18, a new survey of 2,000 young adults has [...]
Barclays share price rises as it confirms sale of Portuguese assets September 3, 2015 Barclays confirmed this morning it will sell its Portuguese non-core assets – including its retail banking, wealth and investment businesses, as well as the small business arm of its corporate banking business – to Bankinter. It will also sell its insurance business in the country to Bankinter's insurance subsidiary, which operates a joint venture with [...]
More than half UK companies’ stock is foreign investor owned September 3, 2015 Foreign investors own nearly £1 trillion-worth of British companies. ONS figures show that at the end of 2014 shares in listed, UK-based companies were worth £1.7 trillion, and 54 per cent of their stock was owned by offshore investors, largely based in North America and Europe. The figure was up nearly 10 percentage points from [...]
Umunna offers Corbyn camp an olive branch September 3, 2015 THE LABOUR party must demonstrate unity regardless of the outcome of its Labour leadership contest, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna has said. Alluding to the far-left front-runner Jeremy Corbyn in a speech to the Westminster think tank Policy Network yesterday, Umunna said: “I do not think we can simply dismiss out of hand those who [...]
Pensioners shun Lamborghini lifestyle as savers opt for sound investments September 3, 2015 Fears that savers would blow their pension pots after new freedoms were introduced have failed to materialise, according to new figures that show Brits opting for sounder investments. Savers took £2.5bn out of their pensions, about £27m a day, during three months following new rules that came into place in April. Yet, during the [...]
You’ll either be knighted if you win or you’ll be Guy Fawkes if you lose… September 3, 2015 Harlequins boss Conor O’Shea tells Ross McLean his Rugby World Cup message to Chris Robshaw ENGLAND’S performance at this month’s World Cup will either immortalise skipper Chris Robshaw or taint his reputation gravely, according to his club boss and Harlequins director of rugby Conor O’Shea. Robshaw had a solitary cap to his name when interim [...]