Resilient British consumers grow more confident about personal finances, but see storm clouds ahead for the UK economy December 22, 2016 British consumers have ended the year on a resilient note, with confidence rising despite gloomy forecasts for the economy, according to a long-running survey. Consumer confidence increased in December by one point, driven higher by a positive attitude towards making major purchases such as furniture or white goods, says the index compiled by market research [...]
Crown Estate pushes ahead with £100m West End project after Brexit vote pause December 21, 2016 The Crown Estate has recovered from post-Brexit vote jitters to push ahead with a £100m West End development. The property company, which is owned by the sovereign, put the redevelopment of the Grade II listed building on hold after the EU referendum. Read more: Venture capital firm signs up to Crown Estate scheme But Crown [...]
It’s been a bumper year for stock markets – but how good was 2016 really? December 20, 2016 “Some investors have quipped that it took days for the markets to digest the UK referendum outcome, hours to come to terms with Donald Trump as President-Elect and minutes to assess Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi’s resignation,” Mark Haefele, global chief investment officer at UBS Wealth Management, told clients last week. It has been a [...]
We’ve got cereal strikes going on: Now Weetabix workers vote for walkouts December 19, 2016 Another day, another proposed batch of industrial action. This time, it's Weetabix workers apparently. Usdaw union has said workers at the cereal company are planning to go on strike in the new year after voting for action in a row over the firm's proposal to change shift patterns. Ed Leach, Usdaw's area organiser, said: “Despite long [...]
Striking Post Office workers have set up a Santa’s grotto complete with live reindeer as part of a protest December 19, 2016 If you've got a soft spot for Santa's favourite animal, you might want to head on over to the department for business. For striking Post Office workers, members of the Communications Workers Union (CWU) have set up a Santa's grotto, complete with live reindeer, outside the government's business department headquarters. Read more: Everything you need to [...]
Harvard and University of California psychiatry professors weigh in on President-elect Donald Trump’s ability to lead December 19, 2016 President-elect Donald Trump may not be short of critics a month before his inauguration, and now it seems the medical community is weighing in on his leadership style too. Three leading professors of psychiatry have warned that Trump's "grandiosity" and "hypersensitivity" to criticism deserve a psychiatric evaluation (as opposed to, say, angry tweets and Saturday Night Live [...]
Christmas strikes 2016: From Southern rail to British Airways, why’s everyone striking? December 19, 2016 A raft of Christmas strikes is set to unfold this week, with travel particularly affected. Around 3,000 staff at various Crown post offices are set to walk out today, Tuesday and Saturday, while members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union unleash their latest industrial action on Southern rail today and tomorrow, with an ongoing [...]
Habito founder Daniel Hegarty talks fintech mortgages, bigamy and working above a kebab shop December 19, 2016 Many people have a career change. Before venturing into fintech, Daniel Hegarty, founder of digital mortgage broker Habito, was a professional musician, composing for TV and film and touring internationally. In 2007, he joined a few people trying to work out how to do loans on the internet in real time, in a pre-launch company [...]
The manufacturing industry had some of the biggest job losses across the UK economy last year December 19, 2016 The UK manufacturing industry recorded some of the biggest job losses last year, impacted by international competition and technological advances. According to accountancy group UHY Hacker Young, the industry had some of the biggest job losses of all sectors across the UK economy. Out of 69 sectors measured for job creation, manufacturing made up three of [...]
Surge in days lost to strike action in 2016 December 19, 2016 Talks aimed at averting strikes by British Airways cabin crew over Christmas will be held at conciliation service Acas today as figures obtained by City A.M. show that the number of days lost to industrial action in the first ten months of 2016 has already dwarfed last year’s total. According to the Office of National [...]