Gatwick bank holiday strikes OFF: Brits breathe sigh of relief as disruption averted August 24, 2023 London Gatwick Airport passengers are no longer facing disruption over the August bank holiday, after workers accepted a last-gasp pay deal. The Unite Union threatened strike action on this weekend, on behalf of members employed by ground handlers Red Handling and Wilson James, who operate passenger assistance contracts. But following the improved offer both have [...]
Prospective buyers hit with fresh blow as mortgage approvals continue to fall June 1, 2023 Prospective buyers continue to suffer setbacks as fresh data reveals that mortgage approvals fell during April. Net mortgage approvals for house purchases fell from 51,500 in March to 48,700 in April, figures from the Bank of England show, with experts predicting that the figure could fall further following the central bank’s decision to hike interest [...]
One Chinese province faces a MILLION new Covid-19 cases every day December 25, 2022 China’s Zhejiang, a big industrial province near Shanghai, is battling around a million new daily COVID-19 infections, a number expected to double in the days ahead, the provincial government said on Sunday. Despite a record surge of cases nationwide, China reported no COVID deaths on the mainland for the five days through Saturday, the Chinese [...]
M&S aims to launch banking and loyalty ‘superapp’ in long-term commitment to financial services March 17, 2024 Marks & Spencer (M&S) is reportedly close to a seven-year agreement with HSBC to overhaul its banking division as a financial services and loyalty "superapp".
Pendragon: Car dealership to sell UK motor business to US firm Lithia for £250m September 18, 2023 Car dealership group Pendragon has agreed to a proposed sale of its UK motor business to US dealer giant Lithia Motors for £250 million. The deal, if approved by shareholders, will be valued at about 27.4p per share, against the 18.6p Pendragon shares were trading at on Friday. Investors will receive a 16.5p cash dividend [...]
Half of UK workers would turn down pay rise to keep working from home March 12, 2024 Just over half of UK workers would forgo a pay rise in order to not work from the office full time, according to a new survey.
UK standalone 5G rollout to be finished by 2030, ministers pledge April 11, 2023 Ministers are set to invest millions in boosting the UK’s connectivity via a nationwide rollout of 5G. All populated areas of the country will be covered by ‘standalone’ 5G – also called ‘5G-plus’, which is not reliant on existing 4G technology – by 2030, the government has pledged. Technology secretary Michelle Donelan today unveiled a [...]
TSB Bank profits up 45 per cent on rising rates as impairment charges soar too July 27, 2023 TSB Bank’s profits were lifted by rising interest rates, but the bank flagged challenges ahead as impairment charges soared by 54 per cent on last year. In the first half of the year pretax profit climbed 45 per cent to £147.9m, up from £102.9m in the same period last year. The lender noted this was [...]
House prices grow for tenth month in a row, but market continues to cool June 1, 2022 House prices have growth for the tenth month in a row, according to the latest figures, though costs are continuing to slow in their steamroll. The average price of a home in the UK grew 11.2 per cent to £269,914 in May, slowing slightly from the more than 12 per cent growth reported in April, [...]
London house prices fell by 1.4 per cent in August October 18, 2023 House prices in the capital fell further in August, according to the government’s latest house price index, as higher interest rates continued to weigh on the market. Data released by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday showed the region’s house prices fell by 1.4 per cent in August year-on-year. London’s average house prices remained [...]