Taylor Swift 1; Apple 0: Tech giant backs down over payment policy after Shake It Off singer threatens to block album June 22, 2015 Apple Music has backed down on its payment policy a day after singer Taylor Swift said she would refuse to let the tech giant stream her album 1989. The Shake It Off singer had written an open letter to the company saying she would withhold her record in light of plans to offer a [...]
Afren seeks investor support for refinancing agreement through new microsite as share price stagnates June 22, 2015 Troubled oil firm Afren has set up a microsite to gain support from shareholders for its controversial refinancing of its debt in March. The site features videos with management, the refinancing prospectus, FAQs and other material related to the vote. The Nigeria-focused business agreed a $300m debt-for-equity deal after defaulting on its $15m [...]
Greece on the brink ahead of crisis talks June 22, 2015 Greece faces bankruptcy and capital controls within days if Eurozone finance ministers fail to strike a bailout deal at an emergency meeting in Brussels today, the chairwoman of Greece’s largest bank has warned. Louka Katseli, chair of the National Bank of Greece, told Morning Wire that without a deal Athens risked a technical default before [...]
George Osborne insists £12bn in welfare cuts will go ahead June 22, 2015 Chancellor of the exchequer George Osborne has said that he will push ahead with plans to cut £12bn in welfare spending, despite previous reports that Conservative party campaign promises would be reined in under the new government. Writing with work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith in The Sunday Times, Osborne said that he would [...]
Top UK business figures Helena Morrissey and Mark Littlewood back calls for EU reform or Brexit June 22, 2015 Several top UK business leaders have backed a new report from Business for Britain (BfB) which states that if Britain cannot establish a new relationship within the EU, it should prosper outside it. Helena Morrissey, of Newton Investment Management and Mark Littlewood, director general of the Institute of Economic Affairs, are among the BfB members [...]
Borealis Infrastructure putting together new Severn Trent bid June 21, 2015 Canada’s Borealis Infrastructure is in the early stages of launching a takeover bid for British utility firm Severn Trent. The investment vehicle previously bid for the FTSE 100 water company in May 2013, as part of the LongRiver Partners consortium which also included the Kuwait Investment Office and UK pension fund the Universities Superannuation Scheme. [...]
Recruiter says lack of diversity at top firms is hurting UK business June 21, 2015 A lack of ethnic diversity in Britain’s top firms is putting UK companies “at a serious disadvantage,” according to a new report out today. Researchers for recruiter Green Park have identified a widening so-called “diversity deficit,” with the position of ethnic minorities in leadership roles at FTSE100 firms declining over the past year. The report [...]
Jean-Claude Juncker lays out two-year plan for reforms across the Eurozone June 21, 2015 European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has set out a decade-long timeline for Eurozone reforms. In a report commissioned by European Union leaders, which involved input from the presidents of the European Central Bank, European Parliament, European Council and Eurogroup, the Commission calls for the completion of the euro area’s economic and monetary union, with “immediate [...]
Consumers are more upbeat on their finances June 21, 2015 Brits are feeling more confident about their personal finances after the General Election, survey data from a major UK bank show. Lloyds Bank’s spending power index climbed to a new high score of 160, according to figures released today. Consumers’ assessment of their current situation, a sub-section of the survey, jumped by 11 points to [...]
Raids on premises treble in HMRC tax evasion crackdown June 21, 2015 The number of raids carried out on premises has trebled in the last four years, as part of government investigations into tax evasion. Almost 600 property raids were carried out this year by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), following increased pressure from the government to meet its target of 1,165 tax evasion prosecutions set out [...]