M&S’ Brexit: Marks and Spencer to close its Paris flagship store October 26, 2016 Marks and Spencer is planning to shut its flagship store in Paris, according to reports. The British retailer wants to scale back its international operations to save on costs, Bloomberg has reported. Read more: MPs call for debate on "loopholes" in national living wage legislation The decision will be formally announced by chief executive Steve Rowe [...]
Britain’s cities compared: How long does it take to sell your house? October 25, 2016 While London may be an extremely popular choice for Britons to live, for anyone looking to sell their property quick-sharp, it is one of the worst. On average London is the fourth slowest city to shift a property in the UK according to a survey by Post Office Money. Furthermore, it takes almost double the length of time [...]
The devil you know, the devil you don’t: How to protect your investments whoever wins the US election October 25, 2016 As polling day draws near, it is regrettable that the contest to become the 45th President of the United States has been more about personality than policy. The campaign has been distinguished on one side by preposterous promises to suspend the entry of Muslims into the country and build a hard border with Mexico, and [...]
The weirdest things and most unlikely people Donald Trump has insulted on Twitter October 24, 2016 Today the New York Times took two WHOLE pages to print 281 people, places and things Donald Trump has insulted on Twitter. The full list is quite something. As the race enters its final few weeks, many have suggested that the polls are closer than they seem. If true, that means there are sure to [...]
Royal Bank of Canada finance chief to retire and will be replaced by former PwC accountant October 24, 2016 One of Royal Bank of Canada's (RBC) executive stalwarts will retire at the end of January the bank announced this morning. Janice Fukakusa, who has been with RBC since 1985, will retire from her dual-posts of chief financial officer officer and chief administrative officer, with former beancounter Rod Bolger scheduled take over in lender's top finance job. Read more: RBC deal takes Banque SYZ into Switzerland's [...]
British American Tobacco (BAT) hopes for lucky strike with $47bn offer for remaining stake in Reynolds American October 23, 2016 Reynolds American is this week expected to respond to a $47bn (£38.4bn) takeover offer from British American Tobacco (BAT), in a move that would create the world’s largest listed tobacco group by turnover. FTSE 100-listed BAT, which already owns 42.2 per cent of Reynolds, said on Friday it will pay $56.50 per share in a [...]
Official GDP figures to show UK economy defying Brexit recession warnings October 23, 2016 The UK economy is set show by just how much it outperformed pre-referendum forecasts later this week, when official growth figures for the crucial third quarter are published. Economists expect the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to find the UK grew by a robust 0.3 per cent between the end of June and the end of September. [...]
Scientists have explained why it’s so important for bosses to act as good role models October 21, 2016 Cracking down on bosses who break the rules could be the key to reducing bad behaviour across a company, researchers have found. A study by the University of California found that people were less likely to blame or punish those who had behaved unethically if they were imitating a high-ranking employee who’d also misbehaved. Bosses [...]
Autumn Statement 2016: Philip Hammond in trouble as government dramatically misses borrowing target October 21, 2016 The government has dramatically overshot its target for public borrowing, with a whopping £10bn black hole in the country's finances. The deficit – a measure of how much more the government spends than it receives – rose to £10.6bn in September. That was £2.5bn over expectations and 14 per cent higher than the same month last year. It [...]
Weathering the Twitter storm at work October 21, 2016 In the time it takes to read this sentence, over 25,000 tweets will have been posted worldwide. Some of these will be interesting, some amusing and many forgettable, but it’s inevitable that some will be completely misjudged. In a personal context this may lead to social embarrassment, but in a work context the consequences can [...]