FTSE 100 ends higher despite being weighed by tourism stocks after Paris attacks November 16, 2015 The FTSE 100 has rebounded to be trading flat in mid-afternoon trade, after it opened lower this morning, led higher by mining stocks despite tourism stocks including airlines and hotels falling in the wake of the deadly attacks in Paris on Friday night. The UK's top blue-chip index was up 0.5 per cent to 6,146.38 points at the close. International Consolidated Airlines [...]
Liberty Global to buy Cable & Wireless in £3.5bn deal November 16, 2015 John Malone's Liberty Global is taking over Cable & Wireless Communications, as the telco firms announced today they’d reached an agreement on a $5.3bn (£3.5bn) deal which will strengthen Liberty Global’s position in the Caribbean. The agreement follows on weeks of negotiation talks between the companies. Liberty Global’s intentions were made public on 22 October, [...]
Property firm Knight Frank launches Tech team to target London’s booming digital sector November 16, 2015 Knight Frank has created a Tech team to tap into growing demand from digital firms looking for office space in the capital. The property advisory company said it has poached industry veteran James Nicholson from rival firm JLL to lead a new central London Tech and Creative team and build the company’s profile in the [...]
The US economy is losing momentum, according to new business surveys November 16, 2015 The US economy is set for an end-of-year slowdown, according to new survey data published today, with business confidence falling to its lowest level for two years. World Economics’ sales managers' index (SMI) dropped to a score of 54.3 in November – its fourth consecutive monthly fall. Any score above 50 signifies growth, with higher scores [...]
Travel caterer SSP wins £500m deal to open 29 outlets at Oslo airport November 16, 2015 Travel catering giant SSP has won a £500m contract to run 29 shops, cafes and restaurants at Oslo Airport Gardermoen in Norway. The FTSE 250 franchise operator, which made its £1bn stock market debut last year, said it has secured a contract spanning five years for retail and seven years for the food and beverage, with [...]
Bitcoin price: More people are now searching for bitcoin than Chinese yuan or Japanese yen – but it can’t match the pound or the dollar November 16, 2015 Bitcoin’s wild surge and fall has had people flocking around the cryptocurrency. Now fresh data reveals that more people are interested in finding out how bitcoin is doing than the Chinese yuan, or renminbi. Google search data shows that more people have been searching for the digital currency than the renminbi over the past month, [...]
Insurance Fraud Bureau: Crash for cash style fraud drops almost £60m in three years as criminals move onto new claims November 16, 2015 Crash for cash style fraud – where people stage motor accidents to claim fraudulently on insurance – has dropped by nearly £60m in the last three years, according to a report by the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) released today. Figures from the fraud-fighting not-for-profit found that the total value of such scams is now worth [...]
Uber’s new “destinations” feature means anyone can be a driver November 16, 2015 Not content with just offering rides on demand in hundreds of cities worldwide, wildly popular ride-sharing app Uber is now moving into carpooling. The company’s new “destinations” feature will allow drivers to set their destination and pick up a passenger, so drivers heading in a specific direction can choose to pick up passengers heading the [...]
Standard & Poor’s: Abrupt climate change could challenge insurance industry November 16, 2015 Insurers could be underestimating how climate change will affect their business, according to a study released today by ratings agency Standard & Poor’s. Miroslav Petkov, director, insurance ratings at Standard & Poor’s, said: “Our analysis indicates that insurers' capital management will be sufficient to manage the additional strain of a reduction of about 0.5 per [...]
Retiring baby boomers creating skills gap headache for more than three-quarters of employers November 16, 2015 More than three-quarters (77 per cent) of finance directors are worried that their business will struggle with skills gaps over the next five years as the baby boomer generation reaches retirement age. Research released today by recruitment consultancy Robert Half found that, of the more than 200 senior finance executives surveyed, 88 per cent were [...]