Government will supply fuel to Scotland as Grangemouth closure interrupts supply October 23, 2013 Ed Davey, secretary of state for energy and climate change, has spoken on Ineos' closure of the Grangemouth petrochemical plant in Scotland, saying that the government "is saddened by this move". Davey said that the plant has significance both for the local community and the Scottish economy. Davey urged the two parties to continue dialogue [...]
Cameron reiterates support for innovation-destroying energy market interventions October 23, 2013 Prime Minister David Cameron has voiced support for energy market intervention in a heated session of Prime Minister's Questions today. While the Prime Minister did support "rolling back the costs that have been imposed on people's energy bills" in the form of energy sector levies, he reiterated his backing for intervention that he claims will [...]
EU drafts new regulation to clampdown on high frequency trading October 23, 2013 The European Parliament has drafted a deal with national governments for tougher regulation of high frequency trading (HFT). The new measures will add to the plethora of new financial regulations already proposed by EU Commissioner, Michel Barnier, including shifting derivatives trading onto regulated markets and restrictions on commodity speculation. Christian Social Union MEP, Markus Ferber [...]
Job losses as Grangemouth petrochemical plant to close October 23, 2013 Grangemouth petrochemical plant is to close, bringing job losses, it has been announced. Liquidators will be appointed within the week, says owner Ineos. Up to 800 jobs are under threat. The site's well-known oil refinery will be kept open, provided the threat of strike action is lifted, but the future of the refinery will now [...]
ECB paves way for next year’s tougher-than-expected bank stress test October 23, 2013 The European Central Bank (ECB) today announced that the stress test it'll be meting out on Eurozone banks as of this November will be tougher than many had anticipated. (Release) The three-part assessment will require all banks to have a capital ratio of eight per cent, and will take 12 months to complete. Michael Symonds [...]
BBM sees over 10m downloads for Android and iPhone in first 24 hours October 23, 2013 In less than 24 hours over 10m customers have downloaded Blackberry's instant messaging app – BBM – now available on Android and iOS platforms, making it one of the best single-day openings for a mobile app. Whether many will use the service is another matter. Rival messenger WhatsApp has a pretty entrenched position as its [...]
Asos, Sports Direct and Home Retail results stronger – but this is a success for e-street not the high street October 23, 2013 We've seen trading updates from a host of retailers this morning. Asos saw full year pre-tax profits beat consensus forecasts, Home Retail's Homebase and Argos saw like-for-like sales up 5.9 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively in 26 weeks, and Sports Direct saw total sales up by 15.1 per cent in nine. But don't [...]
Ofcom offers new protection against mid-contract price rises October 23, 2013 Individuals and businesses will be allowed to leave their landline, broadband or mobile contract without a penalty if their provider increases the cost their monthly deal. Ofcom announced on Wednesday that it will instruct providers how to interpret and apply, telecoms sector rules with regard to price rises during fixed-term contracts. Ofcom also confirmed the [...]
Bank unanimous against rate hikes despite raised growth forecasts October 23, 2013 Turns out the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee was unanimously against rate hikes at their last meeting, with all nine members voting against a change in policy in rates or asset purchases. That's despite the fact that the Bank's own survey data now points to two per cent growth over the second half of [...]
Jonathan King steps down as Homeserve executive October 23, 2013 Jonathan King, CEO of Homeserve Membership is stepping down to pursue a a non-executive career. King has been involved with the emergency repairs business for 13 years. Among his positions held at the firm were six years as CEO of Homeserve USA, following four years as managing director of HomeServe Membership. He will leave the [...]