Visas could cost UK firms 300 per cent more after Brexit, warns report May 21, 2018 British businesses could face soaring costs when hiring employees from Europe unless the UK’s immigration system is reformed, a new report has found. Firms bringing skilled European workers into the UK could face an increase in costs of up to 300 per cent unless changes are made in preparation for Brexit, TheCityUK and EY warned. [...]
Royal Mail share price falls as record revenues fail to offset profit problems May 17, 2018 Royal Mail today blasted through the £10bn revenue barrier, as continued stellar growth overseas offset a stuttering performance in the UK. But shares fell five per cent this morning with investors disappointed by a sharp deterioration in annual profits, which were hurt by charges from the firm’s pension fund overhaul. Today’s results take the shine [...]
Martin Lewis sets out demands to Facebook ahead of court action May 16, 2018 Money guru Martin Lewis has said he will settle his legal action against Facebook if the social networking site meets his demands. Following a meeting with senior Facebook executives at the company’s London offices, Lewis took to social media to say he was “hopeful” that the situation could be resolved. “I don’t particularly want my [...]
Government calls in the lawyers to check if two customs options are legal May 16, 2018 Cabinet office minister David Lidington admitted this morning that the government had asked lawyers to look at the two post-Brexit customs options to check if they are legal. The cabinet is currently divided over two future customs options – the customs partnership model, which would see the UK collect taxes on behalf of the EU [...]
Outgoing Serious Fraud Office boss David Green QC in talks with magic circle firm Slaughter and May May 15, 2018 Former Serious Fraud Office (SFO) boss David Green QC is in talks to join magic circle firm Slaughter and May. Website Legal Week has reported that the former SFO director has made an application to the Advisory Committee on Business Appointments which decides on the suitability of new jobs for former senior civil servants and [...]
IWG share price jumps 20 per cent after talks of takeover from Lonestar, Starwood Capital and TDR Capital May 14, 2018 Shares in serviced office firm International Workplace Group (IWG) jumped more than 20 per cent this morning after it was revealed that the company was in talks for a full share takeover. The company confirmed on Friday that it had interest from three seperate private equity firms: Lonestar, Starwood Capital and TDR Capital over the [...]
Voice search will finally force marketers to use plain English May 14, 2018 Half (50%) of all searches will involve voice by 2020, according to ComScore, thanks to the rise of voice assistants. At last, organisations will need to ditch marketing jargon and speak the language of their audience if they want to be found online, or they will simply lose their business. Around a decade ago, I [...]
A Labour party that couldn’t even smash the local elections should be seriously worried May 8, 2018 At first glance, Thursday’s local elections seemed to offer something for everyone (except for Ukip, of course). But Labour should be worried – really, really worried. First, the upside – at least for self-styled progressives. The referendum has clearly removed Ukip’s main raison d’etre, and a series of soap-opera-style leadership contests has rendered it a [...]
Runners and riders: Who will replace Mark Carney as Bank of England governor? May 8, 2018 The Bank of England will this week reveal its latest monetary policy decision, with investors having performed an abrupt u-turn on their bets it will raise rates. Investor bets indicate a probability of only seven per cent for a May hike, compared to an implied probability of more than 71 per cent at the end [...]
London blockchain startup Cobalt nabs investment from the Singapore Exchange May 4, 2018 Cobalt, a London-based startup which is aiming to shift foreign exchange (FX) markets onto blockchain technology, now has Asia’s largest currencies exchange on board. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) today made a “strategic investment” in Cobalt, which aims to use distributed ledger technology (the tech behind bitcoin and blockchain) to improve firms’ infrastructure and risk management. [...]