Business expense fraudsters are burgling from the boardroom’s bottom line September 4, 2018 Running a business costs money. That may sound simple – and in many ways, it is. From paying staff to keeping the lights on, some costs are all part of the never-ending challenge of running a business. But when it comes to employee expenses, things are rarely simple. With wide-ranging rules and limits often being [...]
Construction sector faces renewed slowdown in August as infrastructure projects lag September 4, 2018 Activity in the British construction sector slowed in August as housebuilders and civil engineering firms held back from projects, according to a bellwether survey of the industry. Expansion in the sector waned to a three-month low, with IHS Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) today retreating to a reading of 52.9 points, from a strong 14-month [...]
Corbyn won’t stop until the government controls everything September 4, 2018 Back in November 2013, the general secretary of the Unite union, Len McCluskey, outlined what he believed was so refreshing about then Labour leader Ed Miliband’s platform. “What is particularly important is the underlying rationale for what Ed has proposed,” McCluskey boomed. “There are some things too important to be left to the market.” “Too [...]
Hot weather and high fuel prices drive consumer spending up in August September 4, 2018 Consumers spent an extra 4.5 per cent year-on-year in August, driven by hot weather and high food and fuel prices. Spending on petrol climbed to 10.9 per cent, while there was a five per cent increase in supermarket spending. Brits also flocked to pubs to enjoy the last of summer, spending 11.9 per cent more [...]
Bank of England governor Mark Carney to face grilling on future after Downing Street intervention September 3, 2018 Mark Carney faces a grilling on his departure from the Bank of England tomorrow after 10 Downing Street today insisted he is still on track to leave Threadneedle Street in 2019. Carney is currently set to lead the Bank until the end of June 2019, three months after the UK leaves the EU, but 10 [...]
Downing Street says Mark Carney still set to leave the Bank of England in 2019 September 3, 2018 Mark Carney is still on track to leave the Bank of England in 2019 according to the Prime Minister's spokesperson, in spite of reports he may be considering an extension to his time as governor in Threadneedle Street. Carney is currently set to lead the Bank until the end of June 2019, three months after [...]
British manufacturing growth slower than expected as export sweet spot ends September 3, 2018 The British manufacturing export boom ended in August as the sector grew at the slowest pace in more than two years, according to a closely followed survey. The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector fell to a 25-month low of 52.8 for the month, the figures from IHS Markit showed, as export orders [...]
Minimum wage needs radical reform, says free market think-tank September 3, 2018 The UK's minimum wage structure should be simplified to just one or two different hourly rates for workers aged 18 and over, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) said today. The UK has five different minimum hourly wage rates, more than almost any other country. In a new report the IEA said the complicated structure [...]
India’s economy just had its best quarter in two years August 31, 2018 India’s economy had its best quarter in two years in the three months ended in June, growing at a powerful 8.2 per cent. The surge was fuelled by consumer spending and a strong manufacturing performance. It is the country's highest performance in a quarter since the 9.3 per cent growth India experienced in the January-March [...]
Donald Trump threatens to pull the US out of the World Trade Organisation August 31, 2018 US President Donald Trump has threatened to pull the US out of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In an interview in the Oval Office with Bloomberg News Trump said: “If they don’t shape up, I would withdraw from the WTO”. He said establishing the WTO, which was set up in 1995, was the “the single [...]