Business and Economics

The Institute for Fiscal Studies and Health Foundation said the NHS would need an extra 4% a year - or £2,000 per UK household - for the next 15 years. The report said the NHS has been struggling to cope after the toughest financial constraints in its 70-year history had been imposed on the service. Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, which commissioned the report and represents 85% of NHS bodies, said: “This report is a wake-up call. And its...

Private healthcare, an extra day’s holiday on their birthday and free gym membership are among the perks Brits want from employers, according to a study. Researchers polled 2,000 office workers to identify the benefits they would like to see from their place of work – including flexible working hours, a nice desk and staff discounts. Other desirables include company holidays away, being able to make personal calls at work and having space to be creative. However more than half of...

Mark Carney, governor of the bank of England has indicated that Brexit has already hit the UK economy and it hasn’t even happened yet. Carney said that Brexit has taken two per cent off the size of the economy in the UK and has left each household £900 worse off. He described this amount as “a lot of money.” The Bank of England boss has compared forecasts from before the referendum, assuming that remain had won the national vote. Carney...

A group of MPs have signalled that dodgy Russian money flowing into the British banking sector is harming UK national security. Even after Salisbury attack, it appears to be business as usual, and the flow of illicit money has continued regardless of the tough talk from the highest levels of government. The MPs have called upon the British government to take stronger action to halt money laundering by ‘kleptocrats and human rights abusers.” The foreign affairs select committee said the...

What have the Conservatives got against the UK shipbuilding industry, asks GMB? GMB, the union for shipbuilding workers, says the Conservative Government must not be allowed to downgrade the Royal Navy any more by ‘sneaking’ out of their obligation to build three Royal Navy Auxiliary vessels. The Ministry of Defence today announced it may only commission two new Fleet Solid Support ships – rather than the three that were expected. The new ships are required to replenish the UK’s £6.3 billion...

MPs have slammed the senior levels of management at Carillion for its untimely demise. Carillion’s auditor KPMG, was also heavily criticised, with MPs claiming they were “complicit” in the company’s “questionable” accounting practices. A hugely damning report, that runs to 100 pages, has been compiled by two select committees on the matter. One of the most shocking findings is that Carillion’s directors focused on bonus pay-outs to senior executives even as the firm teetered on the brink of collapse. Additionally...

Arriving late, wearing inappropriate clothes - and bumping a colleague’s vehicle in the car park are among the biggest blunders made by employees on their first day at work, a study has found. A poll of almost 3,000 workers revealed almost half have made a bad first impression after having a terrible or humiliating start to a new job. Others arrived to find they were completely over-dressed, spilled tea everywhere, got lost en-route to the office and said something inappropriate...

With the surprise announcement by President Trump to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum, many countries have been scrambling to deal with the potential ramifications. Trump has since exempted the European Union, as well as Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and South Korea. But what does this mean for EU trade with China? And how does it affect the United Kingdom? When Trump announced his plans to impose tariffs of 25 percent on imported steel and 10 percent on aluminum,...

As the date to leave the EU comes ever closer another company is jumping ship before Brexit actually begins. This time it is Thomson Reuters who have said they will shift their foreign exchange derivatives trading to Ireland. The outfit will relocate to Dublin so they can continue to do business within the EU. There are fears of a mass exodus of companies, especially in financial services, in the run up to Brexit. A spokesperson said: “Thomson Reuters has commenced...