Standard Life share price falls on hit from Osborne’s pension shake-up August 4, 2015 The insurance giant's admission that it will be hit by the government's pension shake-up sent shares down three per cent to 440.7p in mid-morning trade today. The figures In results posted this morning, Standard Life said operating profit before tax rose six per cent to £290m in the six months ended 30 June, from £274m during the same period a year earlier. The [...]
London Mayor 2016: Tessa Jowell focuses on housing for Labour bid May 19, 2015 Mayoral bids are like London buses. You wait for five years (or so it feels) and then two come along at once. Yesterday was the somewhat unorthodox launch of entrepreneur-turned-Tory candidate Ivan Massow, who opted for the “disarmingly honest” approach with his bid. Today it was the turn of Tessa Jowell, who stood [...]
London’s next mayor must be unashamedly in favour of airport and housing expansion September 21, 2015 I feel sorry for the Conservatives’ London mayoral candidates. With the political landscape transformed by the election of a “pre-1970s socialist” to the Labour leadership, voting in the current Tory primary feels a bit “after the Lord Mayor’s Show”. In such a centralised country, regional politics will always play second fiddle to stories about [...]
Analysts predict a construction bounce back after election dip May 31, 2015 THE CONSTRUCTION sector declined sharply in the run up to the General Election, according to figures published today by industry analysts Glenigan, but a quick rebound is expected. The Glenigan index for June, which covers the value of projects starting on site during the previous three months, has fallen 10 per cent compared with the same time [...]
British house building could be rocked by political uncertainty April 12, 2015 THE CONSTRUCTION sector is forecast to grow strongly this year, yet uncertainty from the General Election could cause a lagged effect. The Construction Products Association (CPA) yesterday said construction output is set to grow by 5.5 per cent this year, but will slow in 2016 and 2017. Growth this year will be buoyed by private [...]
Productivity isn’t such a puzzle: Five steps to unleash business’s potential July 5, 2015 Solving the “productivity puzzle” is consuming a lot of brain power in UK business and economic circles. But is it quite the conundrum it’s made out to be? Productivity is certainly a serious issue. The latest data offers a hopeful sign – as reported output per hour was 1.3 per cent higher in the first [...]
Where to invest following stock market carnage: Europe and China top the experts’ buy lists September 9, 2015 Global stock markets took a battering this summer. At one point, nearly $2 trillion had been wiped off the value of shares across markets as diverse as Germany, China, the US and Argentina. The falls were trigged by worries over the state of China’s economy. Although Chinese companies make up only a small part [...]
Balfour Beatty named as preferred bidder on £460m Hinkley Point contract July 31, 2015 Balfour Beatty has been appointed the preferred bidder to construct nuclear power plant Hinkley Point C in a multi-million pound contract. The construction group has been named alongside engineering group NG Bailey in a 50-50 joint venture as the firms expected to deliver the critical infrastructure behind the station. The contract with EDF Energy [...]
Nationwide chief executive Graham Beale to retire next year as profits jump 54 per cent May 22, 2015 Nationwide's chief executive Graham Beale will step down next year, the building society has confirmed. Beale, who is expected to retire “at or around the date of the AGM in July”, will have been at the helm of the lender for nine years and a board member for 13 years. Nationwide is now looking [...]
How can companies protect themselves from cyber attacks? Seven questions businesses should be asking themselves to stay out of the hacking headlines September 24, 2015 In the connected age, companies of all sizes are vulnerable to hackers and their reputations can suffer huge damage as a result. Ashley Madison was just the latest case of a wide-ranging data breach from which the business is still experiencing fall out, and the automotive sector has also been hit by a number of [...]