200,000 per hour were trying to register to vote in the EU referendum last night when online services crashed June 8, 2016 More than 200,000 people per hour were trying to register to vote in the build up to the collapse of online systems last night. Cabinet Office minister Matt Hancock told the House of Commons today that the peak usage of the gov.uk site was three times the previous peak witnessed, of 74,000 per hour, just [...]
Concerns raised by free market advocates in Westminster after new Prime Minister Theresa May unveils a department of industrial strategy July 14, 2016 Prime Minister Theresa May set out her stall yesterday by merging two Whitehall departments into a giant new office that promises to deliver an “industrial strategy” for Britain. The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will replace the departments of Business, Innovation and Skills (known as BIS) and Energy and Climate Change (known as DECC). The [...]
IMF urges immediate talks on Greek debt relief as strikes get underway May 6, 2016 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged Eurozone finance minister to start negotiating debt relief for cash-strapped Greece. It comes as Greece is being paralysed by a 48-hour strike protesting government-proposed legislation to introduce tax and pension reforms. IMF chief, Christine Largarde, said talks to find €3bn in “contingency” budget cuts had failed and debt relief must be [...]
Shadow MPC calls on Mark Carney to wait before pulling the trigger on another rate cut September 14, 2016 City economists have told Mark Carney to keep interest rates glued at their record low when the Bank of England meets today. City A.M.’s Shadow monetary policy committee (MPC) voted eight-to-one in favour of holding rates at 0.25 per cent, as experts said the governor and his fellow rate-setters should wait for more signs of [...]
David Cameron has said that Britain is in “a position of strength” to handle the aftermath of last week’s Brexit vote June 27, 2016 Prime minister David Cameron has sought issue reassurances on the UK's strength after markets have continued to struggle on the second day of trading since the vote to leave the EU. Speaking in the House of Commons, yesterday, Cameron said that Britain is in “a position of strength” as it seeks to confront the fallout from the vote to [...]
Google, Facebook and Twitter blasted over failure to tackle online extremism August 25, 2016 The world's biggest tech companies have been blasted by MPs for failing to do enough to tackle extremism which appears in videos and messages posted online. Google, Facebook and Twitter have have been accused of "consciously failing" to tackle the incitement of extremism, despite multi-million pound profits, by a group of MPs on the home affairs select [...]
Thank Mark Carney if Britain escapes a post-Brexit recession August 4, 2016 The 0.25 per cent cut from 0.5 per cent, itself already a record low, finally came yesterday, a month later than the market had anticipated. It was the first move in interest rates by the Bank of England in seven years. I often wondered whether membership of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) wasn’t the best [...]
Business and entrepreneurs pile pressure on Sadiq over Uber red tape August 14, 2016 Business groups and entrepreneurs have piled the pressure on the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, warning that new rules clamping down on Uber will stifle innovation in the capital and its multi-billion pound digital economy as he attempts brand the city "open for business". New rules have drawn the ire of business groups and tech entrepreneurs, who labelled them a backwards step that threatened the [...]
Taylor Wimpey share price shoots up almost six per cent at the open as building firm says it has not been affected by Brexit July 27, 2016 Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said today that last month's Brexit vote had not made any difference to its trading, as it reported increased revenue and profit for the six months to 3 July. The figures The company's revenue was up 9.1 per cent to £1.46bn, from £1.24bn in the first half of last year. Operating profit rose [...]
Recession risks fade on upbeat post-referendum data August 21, 2016 Economists believe the chances of the UK economy slipping into a post-referendum recession have slipped, following a steady stream of upbeat economic data. Figures out early last week, compiled before a raft of bumper employment and retail sales statistics had been released, showed the consensus estimate for the UK economy was a 1.6 per cent [...]