Now even China is complaining about the effect the university strikes are having on its students It used to be students leading the protests at university campuses, campaigning for peace and love. Today it is academics demanding preservation of their gold-plated pensions. Passions are nevertheless running high on campus, with …
Read More »I knew Royal Mail couldn’t deliver
The Lib Dem architect of Royal Mail’s privatisation has said he knew the “Postman Pat” business was in trouble when it was sold to hundreds of thousands of ordinary investors six years ago. Sir Vince Cable, business secretary in the coalition government, said he had been “vindicated” by the collapse …
Read More »Royal Mail is paying the price for its failure to deliver
A bitter dispute with its workers threatens to undermine the need for rapid change to stave off terminal decline As she prepared to leave Royal Mail, chief executive Moya Greene took a final meeting with Terry Pullinger, the union boss who had been a constant thorn in her side. It …
Read More »it is a painful lesson for us, but we must bite the bullet and sell Royal Mail
Questor Income Portfolio: the company admits that it could make a loss next year and everything now depends on the success of its belated – and risky – restructuring Questor’s decision in December 2016 to tip Royal Mail has not proved to be our finest hour. To start with all went well: …
Read More »‘It’s good to be eco-conscious, but I’m not banning Christmas cards’
Researchers estimate that 1.5 billion Christmas Cards are thrown away every year in the UK, so is it time to stop sending them? No, says Gillian Harvey. In the midst of depression, Christmas cards landing on her doormat were the one thing that helped to pull her through At a time when environmental …
Read More »Labour set to smash own borrowing rules with £58bn pension spree
Labour has already blown apart its own spending rules with a £58bn pledge to compensate women hit by a rising pension age, a leading think tank warns today. The Conservatives also have the “thinnest of margins” as they seek to meet their own fiscal pledges unveiled less than a month ago, …
Read More »investors vow to fight Corbyn’s plans to seize British businesses
Furious investors are preparing to fight Jeremy Corbyn’s plans to seize swathes of British businesses, arguing his nationalisation spree would be a “blatant breach of human rights” that could trigger a wave of lawsuits. Shareholders and lawyers believe the proposals could breach international treaties and Brussels rules over state aid, and intend to fight them through …
Read More »Dividend payouts hit by global headwinds
The slowdown in dividend payouts by the world’s biggest companies continued in the third quarter as waning profit growth hit shareholder payouts. Investors are bracing for further headwinds in 2020 as the global economic picture darkens. The US-China trade war is thwarting economic growth, and major economies such as the …
Read More »Duchess of Sussex to sue Mail on Sunday over ‘campaign of lies’
The Duchess of Sussex has accused a tabloid newspaper of publishing lies, including claims she bought a £5,000 copper bath and spent £500,000 on sound-proofing her Windsor home. Documents lodged at the High Court are said to accuse The Mail on Sunday of exploiting her father, Thomas Markle, and making …
Read More »Royal Mail general election strike blocked by High Court
Over the two-day hearing, the union argued there was no evidence of interference with the ballot and that the “legitimate partisan campaigning” for the “yes vote” was in line with the rules. However, Mr Justice Swift, who chaired the hearing, said that strike action risked the “delay or non-delivery” of electoral material produced …
Read More »