Exclusivity clauses in zero hour contracts banned from today May 25, 2015 New rules banning exclusivity clauses in zero hours contracts come into effect today, stopping employers from preventing hourly staff from working for another employer. The new provisions were first introduced under the last government, and championed by former business secretary Vince Cable. They were passed into law under the small business, enterprise and employment bill, [...]
Japan Tobacco to sell £798m drink business to Suntory Beverage & Food May 25, 2015 Suntory Beverage & Food announced yesterday its intention to purchase Japan Tobacco Inc.’s drink and vending and machine businesses for close to ¥150bn (£798m). As part of the deal, Japan Tobacco which owns the Camel and Amber Leaf cigarette brands in the UK, will offload its shares in its subsidiaries Japan Beverage Holdings and JT [...]
Invoice delays top 107 days with construction firms taking the hit May 25, 2015 Businesses in construction and real estate were forced to wait over 15 weeks for invoice payments last year, despite the ongoing economic recovery. The new report, published today by the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), comes after recent research by insolvency trade body R3 revealed £41.5bn in late payments was owed to UK businesses [...]
Vatican Bank profits soar but it turns down wealth accumulation May 25, 2015 Scandal-hit lender the Vatican Bank yesterday reported surging profits for 2014, as its leaders continue to try to turn the troubled institution around. The bank, formally known as the Institute for Religious Works (IOR), made €69.3m (£49m) in the year, up from €2.7m in 2013. Of that profit, €15.3m is retained by the bank with [...]
BlackBerry announces more job cuts as reorganisation takes hold May 25, 2015 BlackBerry has announced that it will make job cuts as it consolidates. However, the struggling Canadian smartphone maker declined to say how many jobs would go, and where specifically the cuts would fall. A statement from the firm said: “We have made the decision to consolidate our device software, hardware and applications business, impacting a [...]
Taiwanese insurer Fubon Life Insurance snaps up site of Madame Tussauds May 25, 2015 Top tourist attraction Madame Tussauds Marylebone site has been snapped up by a Taiwanese insurer in a multi-million pound deal. Fubon Life Insurance bought the premises, which has been home to the waxwork museum for about 130 years, for £348.8m according to media reports. It's located on Marylebone Road near Regents Park and displays waxworks figures of [...]
European stocks feel the pressure after Greek minister says default is on the horizon and Spain’s ruling party is punished at the polls May 25, 2015 European stocks are feeling the latest shockwaves from Greece. Yesterday Greece’s interior minister said that the country wouldn’t be able to pay the €1.6bn (£1.1bn) it owes the IMF next month. To add to the jitters, the ruling Popular Party (PP) in Spain was hammered at the polls, with smaller, ant-establishment parties doing well. The [...]
After banning Uber in Guangzhou, the Chinese government is starting its own online taxi service in the city May 25, 2015 The Chinese city of Guangzhou may have banned Uber, but that hasn’t stopped its municipal government setting up its own, strikingly similar, online taxi company. The new company will be named Ruyue, which means “by appointment”. Uber was shut down in the city a matter of weeks ago, after authorities raided its offices, murmuring about [...]
Patrick Drahi’s Altice and John Malone’s Charter Communications are fighting to take over Time Warner Cable May 25, 2015 Time Warner Cable (TWC), one of the biggest US cable companies, could become the subject of a takeover clash. John Malone, a US cable tycoon who owns Charter Communications, and France’s Altice are vying to buy TWC for $48bn (£31bn), sources told the Financial Times. Discussions are said to be ongoing through the weekend, with [...]
Eurovision Song Contest 2015: Secretly, these countries are probably hoping they lose May 23, 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest is getting more and more expensive, despite Europe's decline into austerity. The annual tradition blossomed in the 60's, at a time when things looked brighter for Europe and there was a stronger sense of solidarity. But now the event is more lavish and over-the-top than ever, and each year the winning [...]