Serco share price plunges as much as 16 per cent after first revenue fall in 25 years March 12, 2015 The figures Outsourcing firm Serco said full-year revenue fell to £3.95bn, down from £4.28bn a year earlier. The company also made a £1.35bn operating loss, compared to a £146m operating profit in 2013. Shares in Serco fell as much as 16 per cent to 174p in mid-morning trade as investors reacted to the results. Why it's interesting Serco's woes [...]
General Election 2015: Ed Miliband gives me the heebie jeebies, Nigel Farage models himself on Boycie and Nicola Sturgeon has “thin lips” – here are the best reactions to the party manifesto launches April 20, 2015 Voters have had some interesting reactions to the manifesto launches of the last week – and not in the way you might expect. They collectively had only “the haziest recollection” of the details – despite them dominating the news all week. As part of the weekly poll update for Ashcroft National Polls, they had [...]
Queen’s Speech 2015: Everything we know so far including the EU referendum, devolution, Human Rights Act, income tax, housing and Scotland May 26, 2015 The Queen's Speech will unveil the Conservative government's policy agenda on Wednesday and having shed its coalition partner at the General Election, some pretty major shifts in policy are expected. Here are some of the top pledges expected to feature in the state opening of parliament tomorrow. EU referendum bill Having committed to holding an [...]
The Queen’s Speech: Here’s what happened June 4, 2014 The Queen delivered her speech to MPs and Lords in Westminster this morning. Here's a recap of what happened: Two pension bills: One gives pensioners new freedoms to cash in pension pots and not buy annuity, and the other will cover collective schemes. Childcare: The existing employer-funded childcare scheme is to be replaced by a state-subsidy worth [...]
Police cautions could be scrapped: How many are given every year and for what crimes? November 1, 2014 The government is planning to scrap police cautions, the formal warnings given out for minor offences, and bring in new penalties which it says are tougher on offenders. Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said it was time to end the UK’s “caution culture” so that “no one is allowed to get away with the soft option.” [...]
Forex rigging scandal: London traders could be visited by US prosecutors November 25, 2014 US prosecutors are coming to London, and they’ve got their sights set on the City. Sources cited by Reuters suggest US Department of Justice (DoJ) officials will speak with current or former employees at HSBC and other banks based in the City in the coming weeks, as part of an investigation into foreign exchange [...]
JP Morgan: US Department of Justice investigates forex trading as bank sets aside additional $1.3bn for litigation November 4, 2014 JP Morgan has increased the amount of money set aside for potential litigation costs by $1.3bn (£813m) as it revealed the US Department of Justice (DoJ) has launched a criminal investigation into the banks currency trading. The investigation by the DoJ follows a number of similar probes by regulators, including the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) [...]
How cameras will change the way we think about the police April 11, 2014 Up to 500 police officers will now be expected to film interviews at crime scenes using body-worn cameras, delivering the recorded evidence online, as part of an initiative announced by the Ministry of Justice. In a move to try and heave trial procedures out of the 19th century, lessening reams of paperwork and using digital [...]
In charts: Why the West is worst than the developed world for making multi-million corporate bribes December 2, 2014 http://www.oecd.org/daf/anti-bribery/scale-of-international-bribery-laid-bare-by-new-oecd-report.htm Bribes are generally paid to win contracts from state-owned or controlled companies in advanced economies, rather than in the developing world. The Paris-based think tank, which examined 400 deals over the past 15 years, found that the average bribe was worth almost $14m (£8.9m) – typically 11 per cent of the value of the [...]
Sony just reversed its position on dropping The Interview after North Korea hack: Here’s what you need to know December 20, 2014 In a dramatic reversal of policy, Sony Pictures has announced that it is investigating ways to play The Interview, the North Korea comedy film starring Seth Rogan and James Franco. The company originally cancelled playing the film on 25 December following threats by a hacker group calling itself Guardians of the Peace. Sony said it [...]