4 unusual ways businesses are stopping employees from working April 10, 2014 The 35 hour working week, which has become so sacred to the French since its introduction in 1999, has come under threat from the invasion of smartphone working culture. So now a new labour agreement has made it illegal for employers to expect their staff to work after 6pm. The legally-binding agreement between employment federations [...]
How a Budget carbon tax freeze would affect SSE and Centrica March 18, 2014 A freeze to the carbon price floor looks increasingly likely in the Budget tomorrow, which would have mixed effects on FTSE 100-listed energy giants SSE and Centrica. There is pressure on the government to freeze – or even cut – this controversial tax on fossil fuel emissions, which some argue is making energy-intensive industries in [...]
Vectura taps market for £52m to help snap up asthma specialist March 13, 2014 RESPIRATORY drug company Vectura raised £52m yesterday to fund the purchase of a German asthma expert, making it the latest in a line of British biotech firms to tap the markets in recent months. Vectura, which makes inhalers to treat respiratory diseases, is spending a total of £109m to take over nebuliser specialist Activaero in [...]
GIFted individuals April 9, 2014 The humble GIF has been in vogue for a while. Now the medium has its own art prize IN EARLY 2013 the New York Times hailed the return of the animated GIF, the stuttering, looping, lo-fi videos that hark back to a prehistoric internet of dial-tones, hotmail and endless buffering. As the first generation of [...]
Three things you didn’t know about… January 12, 2014 Chief exec of ACPI Investment Managers Brett Lankester 1 His strengths don’t just lie in asset management. This former Goldman Sachs-er won a local arm wrestling competition in his native South Africa back in 1992. “It’s all in the technique,” he told The Capitalist. 2 Not content with the traditional dogs and cats Lankester’s itinerary [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 14 April 2014 April 14, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES UK watchdog targets bankers Wayward UK bankers risk increasingly large fines as the amount of individual penalties levied by the country’s financial watchdog has increased 76 per cent over the past two years. The Financial Conduct Authority and its predecessor meted out fines totalling £35.5m on individuals in 2012 and 2013, compared with [...]
Weak US jobs data: Only 113,000 workers hired in January February 7, 2014 A weak number from the US. On a seasonally adjusted basis, 113,000 workers were hired in January. Analysts expected to see 185,000 jobs added this month. We saw some nasty numbers last month, with only 74,000 jobs added so there was a good possibility of a rebound. That number has been revised up – but [...]
Eurozone manufacturing growth at 32 month high February 3, 2014 A revived manufacturing sector, or a dead cat bounce? Markit's Eurozone manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 54 in January, up from 52.7 in December. Economists had forecast a jump to just 53.9. Any number above 50 implies expansion, so this headline figure suggests the sector is growing more rapidly. Berenberg's Rob Wood [...]
Focus on… Putney: Great pubs and riverside blues April 10, 2014 EVERY year the Oxford and Cambridge boat race serves as a useful reminder that London riverside living isn’t all about steel, glass and gleaming tower blocks. The race takes the rowers on a tour of some of the most coveted residential areas in London, from the picturesque riverside pubs of Fulham to the bijou balconied [...]
Care specialist Cambian set to float in London March 19, 2014 CARE homes and specialist schools operator Cambian is to join the London stock market in a float that is believed to value the firm at north of £500m. Cambian announced its initial public offering yesterday, after a rise in outsourcing from local authorities and the NHS has given the firm a major chance to expand [...]