Goodbye, €500 note. We hardly knew you May 4, 2016 The €500 note will be withdrawn from circulation by the end of 2018, the European Central Bank (ECB) confirmed this afternoon. The violet-coloured note, dubbed the "Bin Laden" in parts of the Eurozone because of how rarely it is spotted in everyday life, is one of the highest value notes in circulation anywhere in the world. Its design features [...]
Food travel giant SSP gobbles up £280m Abu Dhabi airport contract May 4, 2016 Travel caterer SSP has a £280m contract to run three outlets inside a food court at Abu Dhabi International airport, paving the way for further expansion in the Middle East. SSP said the three units in the airport's new Midfield Terminal Building will feature 17 different international and local brands although it didn't disclose the names. The [...]
At the close: One-way traffic on the FTSE 100 as miners and supermarkets drag it down May 4, 2016 Sunshine may be sweeping the capital, but the stock markets are still feeling down, as the FTSE 100 sunk to a four-week low. Closing down 1.2 per cent at 6,112.02, the FTSE 100 has now lost five per cent since it hit 2016 highs back in the middle of April. Miners dug themselves into a hole as [...]
London mayoral election: Freezing fares or cutting council tax? How Zac and Sadiq’s giveaways stack up May 4, 2016 Elections are rarely free from giveaways. Labour Mayoral hopeful Sadiq Khan’s flagship policy is to freeze Transport for London’s fares for four years. His main contender, Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith, has made clear he would freeze the council tax collected by the Mayor. This is one of the few big policy differences between the two [...]
National Living Wage to cost businesses £11bn by 2020, report warns May 4, 2016 Businesses will have to stump up much as £11bn in extra wage costs over the next four years to meet the chancellor's National Living Wage (NLW) target of £9 per hour, new research has warned. The report, by property firm Bilfinger GVA, estimates that the new hourly rate of £7.20 per hour for over 25 year olds will cost businesses around [...]
EU referendum: Brexit would mean higher inflation and more quantitative easing May 4, 2016 The Bank of England may have to extend its bond-buying quantitative easing programme if the UK votes to leave the European Union, an asset management firm has said today. Hermes Investment Management warned that Brexit would cause the pound to fall – potentially to around $1.20 – and growth would be hit, putting the Bank of England [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open May 4, 2016 US stock futures are heading south in New York, following most European markets moving downwards in early afternoon trading. Asian markets recorded small losses by their close this morning. A little earlier the S&P was down by 0.64 per cent, while the Nasdaq was off by 0.72 per cent, and the Dow 0.53 per cent [...]
Do these five charts explain the productivity puzzle? May 4, 2016 What do the UK’s jobs boom, the rise of self-employment, the plethora of start-ups, short-term investors, meetings, access to finance, employee wellbeing, the skills shortages, too much government and not enough government have in common? They’ve all been blamed for the UK’s productivity crisis. “Productivity” – a slightly woolly measure which basically divides total economic output by [...]
Adidas tees up and prepares its golf brands for sale May 4, 2016 Adidas has confirmed plans to sell its loss-making golf business after putting it up for review last year. The German sportswear group said it will start seeking out buyers for its TaylorMade, Adams and Ashworth golf brands. However, it plans to keep Adidas-branded golf shoes and clothing, which account for about 40 per cent of the business. "TaylorMade [...]
At the open: FTSE 100 falls as gold and oil lose their shine May 4, 2016 There was no "dead cat bounce" on European markets this morning as they continued to crash, hitting three-week lows on the back of a smorgasbord of mediocre economic data. The FTSE 100 sunk 0.6 per cent in the first few hours of the day to stand at 6,150.48. The German Dax is now more than 100 [...]
