Doddle’s Tim Robinson talks 2016, the future of shopping and why he’s looking for a new partner January 18, 2016 Have you used Doddle? If you have, then you’ll either have done so once or 13 times, Tim Robinson, chief executive of the parcel collect and send service tells me. Founded in the autumn of 2014, Doddle has done rather well so far. Over its 2015 peak trading period (the run-up to Christmas), it saw [...]
Britain risks a talent crunch due to draconian policy on high skilled immigration January 18, 2016 London has the most talented workforce in the world. Research from Deloitte has proved it, finding that the capital has 1.5m people working in high-skill, knowledge-based business sectors. That compares with 1.2m in New York, our closest rivals. So it won’t come as any surprise that the business community gets twitchy when it sees looming [...]
Londoners don’t want students to be classed as immigrants January 17, 2016 The majority of Londoners don’t see foreign students studying in London as immigrants although they are counted as such in official immigration numbers, a survey for lobby group London First has found. Polling, revealed exclusively by City A.M., shows 17 per cent of people think of non-EU international students studying in Britain as immigrants, while only [...]
Labour MP John Mann wants to charge £1000 membership fee to Labour party members who own houses worth more than £1m January 14, 2016 A leading Labour MP is proposing a so-called wealth tax to "save the Labour Party" from financial ruin. John Mann, the MP for Bassetlaw, said in a blog post on his website today that Labour should charge party members with properties valued at over £1m a "Labour wealth tax of £1,000 a year". "It will raise significant money and [...]
William Hill’s share price rises despite losing another executive and being hit by hefty gambling duties January 14, 2016 William Hill was hit with hefty gambling duties and reported the loss of another top executive, but that didn't stop its share price rising after posting results in line with expectations. The figures William Hill reported full-year operating profit of £290m, in line with market expectations. Online full-year net revenue rose four per cent to £527.4m. That's [...]
Parliament to debate quarterly tax updates after online petition receives more than 100,000 signatures January 13, 2016 People's dislike of filling in tax returns will become the topic of parliamentary debate in less than a fortnight after an online petition received more than 100,000 signatures. The petitions committee, which considers petitions submitted to petition.parliament.uk, yesterday scheduled a debate for a petition called "Scrap plans forcing self employed & small business to do 4 [...]
Alcohol limits: How much wine should you drink each week? Why science can’t give a straight answer January 13, 2016 The biggest story for many people last week was the new alcohol guidelines issued by the UK’s chief medical officers. In 1995, the recommended weekly upper limit for men was set at 21 units, or about eight pints. This has now been slashed to only 14 units. We might imagine that this drastic reduction is [...]
AO World post strong third quarter results as it says it is on track to launch in the Netherlands January 12, 2016 Electrical specialist AO World has reported revenue growing in the third quarter as it says the company is on track to launch in the Netherlands and progress has been made in Germany. The figures The company reported that UK revenue for the three months to the end of December were up 24 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, ao.com's revenue increased by 35 [...]
Morrisons’s share price soars 10 per cent as supermarket returns to growth after 16 quarters of decline January 12, 2016 Morrisons's share price soared 10 per cent this morning after posting better-than-expected Christmas results, as it starts to win back customers. The figures Like-for-likes excluding fuel were up 0.2 per cent for the nine weeks to 3 January – its first quarterly growth in 16 quarters – while total sales excluding fuel were down 1.2 per cent. This [...]
Francois Hollande’s economic adviser Laurence Boon joins Axa January 11, 2016 One of French President Francois Hollande's economic advisers has been snapped up by French insurance giant Axa. Laurence Boone, who was critical of Hollande's socialist government before being appointed, controversially joined Hollande's team of advisers in June 2014. She left a post at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research to do so. “I am absolutely delighted that Laurence [...]