Autumn Statement 2014: George Osborne scraps stamp duty slabs December 3, 2014 George Osborne's Autumn Statement unveiled a raft of measures in an intensely political statement aimed at luring voters back from Ukip during next year's general election. His centrepiece? A complete overhaul of stamp duty which, he said, will create savings for 98 per cent of home buyers. To cheers from the Tory back benches, Osborne [...]
Pork barrel spending and political gimmicks: Autumn Statement 2014 December 1, 2014 ONE HUNDRED and fifty five. That’s the really significant number for those following tomorrow’s Autumn Statement. It’s nothing to do with how much the UK government is borrowing. In fact, it’s the number of days until the general election. If early indications are anything to go by, the Statement will be packed full of small [...]
Ferguson shooting: Darren Wilson resigns from police department November 30, 2014 The police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teenager in the Missouri town of Ferguson has resigned. Darren Wilson’s resignation comes after a grand jury’s decision not to indict him for the killing of Michael Brown sparked protests in the US and beyond. A 126 mile, seven-day march from Ferguson to Missouri [...]
Police blame retailers as Black Friday descends into chaos November 28, 2014 The chief of Greater Manchester Police has blamed retailers after officers were called to seven Tesco stores across Greater Manchester to deal with crowds at Black Friday events. In a video posted to YouTube, Sir Peter Fahy said three people had been arrested – including one who threatened to "smash" a staff member's face in, [...]
Migrant entrepreneurs are shunning the UK – and we are all worse off as a result November 26, 2014 DEPUTY prime minister Nick Clegg has finally joined what shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has described as an “arms race of rhetoric” on immigration, backing proposals to curb benefits to European Union migrants. He does, however, remain opposed to restrictions on the right of EU citizens to move freely and seek work within the UK, [...]
Thomas Cook share price plummets as chief exec Harriet Green steps down in the wake of rising profits November 26, 2014 With Thomas Cook revealing further growth for a second consecutive year, chief executive Harriet Green is satisfied with a job well done and has stepped down from the role. Chief operating officer Peter Fankhauser will take over with immediate effect to pilot the company which enjoyed narrowing losses and a rise in underlying profit in [...]
Amazon debuts Post Office pick-up service in new deal with Royal Mail November 24, 2014 Shoppers will soon be able to collect products ordered on Amazon at their local Post Office branch in a new deal announced today by the online retail giant and the Royal Mail. Amazon said it has signed up Royal Mail’s Local Collect service, giving its customers the option of collecting goods from any one of [...]
Uber hires Hogan Lovells to probe data policies November 21, 2014 Uber has hired Hogan Lovells to review its data policies, amid controversy surrounding its handling of users' private data. It has hired a team of Hogan Lovells lawyers who will review and make recommendations on its data policy. The team will be led by Harriet Pearson, a partner at the law firm's Washington office, who [...]
Record results for Gatwick as it seeks to grow November 20, 2014 GATWICK airport revealed record passenger numbers and a strong set of results yesterday, as the debate over whether to expand it or its rival Heathrow hots up. Despite a drop in pre-tax profit, owing to accounting adjustments, the group posted an 8.6 per cent increase in turnover to £391.6m and profit before tax of £122.4m. [...]
GoDaddy pushing ahead with $4.5bn IPO as Google announces plan to enter its domain November 20, 2014 GoDaddy.com is pushing ahead with an initial public offering (IPO) early next year that would value the world’s biggest domain registration service at roughly $4.5bn (£2.9bn). A report yesterday in the New York Post said that chief financial officer Scott Wagner met analysts last week to give an update on GoDaddy since it first filed [...]