McDonald’s works to cut costs by selling a majority stake in its China and Hong Kong businesses January 9, 2017 McDonald's is set to sell 80 per cent of its China and Hong Kong businesses for up to $2.1bn (£1.7bn) in an effort to franchise more of its global restaurants. The deal with Chinese conglomerate Citic and US asset manager Carlyle will help McDonald's cut operating costs in its Asian businesses. Originally, the fast-food giant planned to raise up [...]
Liverpool 0, Southampton 1 (Agg: 0-2): Claude Puel urges Saints to make history as Jurgen Klopp laments misfiring Reds January 25, 2017 Southampton boss Claude Puel has urged his side to make history and seal the club’s first piece of major silverware for 41 years after stunning Liverpool to reach the EFL Cup final. Half-time substitute Shane Long settled matters with a breakaway goal in stoppage-time as Southampton stood firm and became the first ever side to [...]
Southampton 1, Liverpool 0: Saints march on but let Reds off the hook January 11, 2017 Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp urged his side to make the most of their reprieve after admitting the Reds were fortunate to escape their EFL Cup semi-final first leg at Southampton with only a slender one-goal deficit. A first-half strike from forward Nathan Redmond kept Southampton on course to reach their first League Cup final since Lawrie [...]
We must take a wrecking ball to political correctness to achieve our true economic potential February 9, 2017 Just how big is the size of the state in the UK? A simple question you might think. Surely all you need is a numerator (a tax or public spending measure) and a denominator (a GDP measure)? Divide one by the other and hey presto there’s your size measure – as a proportion of GDP. [...]
Consumers are going to spend a record amount on supermarket premium ranges this Christmas December 13, 2016 Consumers have been preparing to taste the difference this Christmas as they stock up on supermarkets' premium own label brands. Data from Kantar Worldpanel showed that during the three months to the end of 4 December, shoppers spent 13 per cent more on brands such as Tesco Finest and Asda Extra Special than they did the year before. Read more: These [...]
Liam Fox is hiring almost 100 civil servants for his trade department November 21, 2016 Liam Fox is hunting for almost 100 new civil servants in a bid to secure the future of the UK outside of the European Union. Fox's Department for International Trade was created to boost ties between the UK and the rest of the world after Brexit, and has posted dozens of jobs within the [...]
City A.M. Unregulated podcast: How to make it big in craft beer September 29, 2016 Drinking caps on: it's time to talk about craft beer. This week we're joined by the people in charge of getting craft beer brands in front of consumers: David Voxlin from Craved London and Fraser 'Jam Boy' Doherty, who co-founded Beer 52, talk about the rise and rise of craft beer and what they look for in [...]
Christmas adverts rated: Which retailer has made the best ad of 2016? November 12, 2016 Argos A gang of multicoloured yetis on ice skates stealing unattended electrical items from a pleasant-looking neighbourhood. Does anything say ‘come and visit our store’ less? ★☆☆☆☆ Aldi Good-looking food. But the poor carrot, Kevin, who we become attached to in this one-minute advert, is surely destined to meet an unfortunate ending. ★★★☆☆ Ebay Definitely [...]
The Lord Mayor is taking too many overseas trips, according to a new City of London Corporation report by Sir Simon Fraser February 18, 2016 The Lord Mayor of London should cut down on the number of overseas trade promotion visits he takes, a new report commissioned by the City of London Corporation has recommended. The report, written by Sir Simon Fraser, a partner at consultancy Flint Global who previously worked at the Foreign Office and Department for Business, is aimed at [...]
Two-thirds of oil and gas firms in the UK have had to cut jobs as low prices continue to haunt industry November 29, 2016 Oil and gas workers are still feeling the squeeze from the crash in global oil prices, with two-thirds of the industry cutting staff and the median pay of operators and contractors declining for the first time in at least 22 years, according to a poll. 67 per cent of companies have cut jobs in the [...]