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Warren Buffett is a billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and the second wealthiest person on the planet. He's considered by many to be one of the most successful investors in the world. Today, we're analyzing our take on Warren Buffett's rules for success.
In a world-first, Jaguar and Land Rover owners can now pay for their fuel via the touchscreen of their car at Shell service stations. Rather than paying at the pump or queuing to pay in the shop, installing the Shell app via InControl means drivers can simply drive up to any pump at participating Shell service stations, select how much fuel they require and pay with PayPal or Apple Pay on the vehicle’s touchscreen.
Kraft Heinz Co. confirmed that it made an approach to Unilever about a combination of the consumer-goods companies. Bloomberg's Jeff McCracken
Tony Taylor, a local councillor who worked at the Port Talbot steelworks for more than 40 years, and Frank Field, the chairman of the Work and Pensions select committee, discuss the vote by steelworkers in favour of adopting a deal that will see a change to their pensions schemes in order to save their jobs.
Bloomberg has reported that Verizon is close to renegotiating its deal to acquire Yahoo's internet assets. According to sources familiar with the matter, the $4.8 billion price tag for the acquisition “could be coming down by as much as $250 million.” Neither Yahoo or Verizon has confirmed this number yet. Last month Yahoo said the deal to sell to Verizon was “delayed but still on” as the company dealt with hacking controversies and a new reported investigation “by the Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations it was slow to tell its investors about the hacks.”
Warren Buffett expanded Berkshire Hathaway's positions on airlines and became one of the top ten holders of Apple in the fourth quarter according to the company's 13F filing. Bloomberg's Julie Hyman reports
Tim Tabor/flickr (qlmbusinessnews.com via telegraph.co.uk – – Wed, 15 Feb, 2017) London, Uk – – More workers than ever before are employed in the UK as upbeat companies show few signs of worry over the state of the economy. Employment climbed by 37,000 to 31.84m in the three months to December, while unemployment stayed steady at 1.6m – a level which has fallen by almost 100,000 over the past year as a whole. The unemployment rate stayed at 4.8pc, its joint-lowest rate in 11 years while the employment rate hit a new record high of 74.6pc. Female employment hit a new milestone, with more than 70pc of women in work for the first time, according to the Office for National Statistics. Economists had feared that unemployment could start to rise if companies anticipated an economic slowdown, but there is little evidence of that so far. The number of people claiming out of work benefits in January fell by 42,400 to 745,000, the lowest level since February 2016. “Continued moderate growth in employment has led to a new high in the total employment rate, while the rate for women has reached 70pc for the first time on record,” said ONS senior statistician David Freeman. “Overall, the labour market appears to be edging towards full capacity.” Wage growth was more muted, however. Average weekly pay increased by 2.6pc on the year, down a touch from the 2.7pc growth in the year to November. That comes at a time of rising inflation – prices rose by 1.6pc in the 12 months to December, meaning workers’ spending power increased at the slowest pace since 2014. Economist James Smith at ING said “the surprise fall in wage growth is… alarming”, adding that he does not expect pay to pick up pace in the coming months. “We expect inflation to break above 3pc this year, which will mean that incomes will begin to fall in real terms,” he said. “Add in the slower outlook for jobs growth, and it looks like it could be an increasingly tough year for consumers.” Meanwhile, the number of non-UK workers in the country dipped by 9,000 compared with the previous three-month period, falling to 5.54m. That is still up by more than 400,000 on the year, however, and the ONS said it could just be a seasonal dip rather than a sign of fewer foreign workers moving to the UK after the Brexit referendum.
By Tim Wallace
Shigenori Shiga, Toshiba chairman, has announced that he will resign due to the group's poor performance in its nuclear division. Ed Crooks, US energy editor, explains why the industry titan may now have to sell off part of its lucrative memory chip business.
Investors gave Apple a lift on Monday, sending the technology giant’s shares to $133.29, just above their previous record-closing high, as excitement grows for the 10th anniversary iPhone expected later this year.
Brian Caplen, editor of The Banker, says the Co-op Bank – which has been put up for sale – will lose its name but that it's not the end of ethical banking.
City Index analyst Ken Odeluga discusses with Proactive Rolls Royce's record £4.6bln loss. The engine maker told investors the fall in the pound and a £671mln settlement over corruption and bribery claims took their toll on the group's bottom line.
If you had millions of dollars what would you build and create the most amazing house ever? Here are 10 Insane Celebrity Homes. Subscribe to Talltanic http://goo.gl/wgfvrr 4. Howard Stern Two hundred thousand for hurricane shutters? Ten million on renovations alone? No problem for the most successful radio personality of all time. Stern reportedly spent 52 million dollars to purchase this insane mansion in Palm Beach, Florida in early 2013 and had those refurbishments done early in 2016. The specialty shutters weren’t cheap and so as you might guess, they are very heavy duty and able to withstand winds and debris impact of up to 276 miles per hour. They are also remote controlled and cover every one of the houses many windows. The home itself is even more remarkable. The mansion boasts twelve and a half bathrooms, in case the first twelve are taken, five bedrooms and sprawls over nineteen thousand feet across the Florida beach front. 3. Dwyane Wade+Gabby Union Dwyane Wade is a star guard for the Chicago Bulls. Gabrielle Union is a very well known actress. The couple is, by all accounts very happy together and with salaries that can afford them cribs like this who could blame them? The ecstatic couple got married on August 30, 2014, and leased this ridiculous castle for the occasion. The house was priced at 10.9 million dollars before it was delisted shortly before the wedding. The property was built by architect Charles Sieger, for himself and includes a giant, landlocked moat and formal gardens that surround the property. 2. Bill Gates Though the richest man in the world is known as a charitable man who spends his money frugally, he opened his wallet a little bit to build his dream home. The home cost a record-setting sixty-three million dollars to build and took seven years to complete. The property lies in the hills of Medina, Washington and is surrounded by nature. The estate has a variety of garages, including an underground cave that can hold ten cars, six kitchens tended by a twenty-four-hour on-call chef, a fifteen hundred square foot theater, a twenty-one hundred square foot private library and a massive aquarium. This home is incredible, but of course, it's not the only property the billionaire owns on the west coast. He also bought a ranch in California for eighteen million dollars that has a private race track. 1. Mukesh Ambani Ambani is no celebrity; he’s the Chairman of Reliance Industries, a gigantic conglomerate holding company in India. But he is a billionaire and had this crazy pad built in South Mumbai that is valued at around one billion dollars, making it the most expensive private residential property on the planet. The 27 story property, called Antilia, and its unique design have been a part of the Mumbai skyline since being completed in 2010. The extravagant home’s location in a destitute area of Mumbai is extremely controversial. The property has six floors of underground parking, three helipads and a total interior space of over four hundred thousand square feet. The crib also features nine high-speed elevators, a two story health center and six floors for Ambani and his family. An entire floor is dedicated to servicing Ambani’s stable of cars.
Ever wondered how big is Alibaba? The Jack Ma led company, which is the biggest e-commerce company in China has left no stone unturned to emerge as one of the most valuable company in the world, surpassing its rivals Amazon and eBay. Today, Startup Stories features the wide range of businesses under Alibaba Holding Group.
Jon Bolton, chief of Liberty Steel's Plates and Development division, spoke to Ian King about a deal which saw Tata Steel sell its speciality steel business employing 1,700 people to the company for £100m.
Redrow is one of the UK’s leading residential housing developers. The company’s chief executive, John Tutte, discusses the government’s housing White Paper with Ian King and says the paper’s title, which suggested that Britain’s housing market is ‘broken’, was headline-grabbing. He also says that parts of his business will struggle if EU nationals are not able to work in the UK following Brexit
President Trump held up Intel's plan to invest more than $7 billion in an Arizona factory as a win for his economic agenda. The mayor of Chandler simply calls it a win for his city where the plant is expected to generate thousands of jobs
Andrea Felsted speaks to Ian King about Aldi's new status as Britain's fifth biggest supermarket, overtaking the Co-op and only behind the big four: Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons. Andrea says the company's success is mainly down to an aggressive strategy of opening new stores, as sales in its existing shops are flat
(qlmbusinessnews.com via telegraph.co.uk – – Tue, 7 Feb, 2017) London, Uk – –
The struggling rent-to-own electricals chain BrightHouse has made a bid for survival by offering permanent reform of its controversial practices in talks with lending watchdogs.
The company, owned by private equity firm Vision Capital, has submitted a detailed business plan to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in an attempt to ward off circling bondholders who are preparing for the worst.
The FCA is due to scrutinise the plan and assess whether BrightHouse should be allowed to continue to lend on the basis of it. The situation is increasingly urgent for the chain, with quarterly rent payments on its 311 stores looming at the end of March and its heavy debts due to be called in.
BrightHouse’s finances are under strain from temporary lending rules agreed with the FCA that force it to carry out more stringent checks on customers’ credit history before lending to them. The guidelines also bar it from issuing punitive late payment charges.
The regulator has cracked down on the hire purchase sector over alleged overcharging and hard-sell tactics targeting vulnerable consumers.
BrightHouse said last week it would shut 28 stores before the next rent demands are due, saying “part of our plan requires us to be leaner and more cost effective”.
The chain owes bondholders £220m in notes that are due for refinancing by next year. Bond investors fear BrightHouse will be denied a lending licence by the FCA or that the scrutiny process will take so long that it will prevent refinancing. City sources said they did not expect a decision from the FCA until the second quarter of the year.
Legal and financial advisers are jockeying for position on the potential restructuring, with Moelis and PWC understood to be seeking appointment by bondholders. BrightHouse is working with Rothschild and the City law firm Freshfields. A BrightHouse spokesman declined to comment.
By Christopher Williams and Ashley Armstrong
Ryanair CFO Neil Sorahan speaks to Ian King about the company's financial results. The airline has blamed an increase in delays on what it says is the abuse of its policy allowing passengers to carry two bags free on to the plane – and says it is now under review.
(qlmbusinessnews.com via news.sky.com- – Mon, 6 Feb, 2017) London, Uk – –
A Government-backed older workers champion says employees aged 50-69 are needed as the UK labour market faces a shortfall.
Employers have been urged to hire a million more older workers over the next five years to help plug the skills gap and combat age bias.
Andy Briggs, the Government's business champion for older workers, has called for the employment rate for people aged 50-69 to rise from 59% to 66% by 2022.
Britain faces a shortfall of new workers over that period, with 14.5 million jobs created but only seven million younger people entering the workforce.
Mr Briggs, who is chief executive of Aviva UK Life, said putting a million more older people in work by 2022 was an “ambitious yet necessary target”.
“There are 15 million people of this age group in the labour market, yet only nine million are in work,” he said. “We want to get this to 10 million by 2022.”
The UK employment rate at age 50 is 83%, dropping to 64% at age 60.
Mr Briggs said older workers could be “written off” but employers should consider the “overwhelming benefits of having a diverse and representative workforce”.
He added: “We live in an ageing society so it is critical that people are able to work for as long as they need and want to.
“Many people aged over 50 want to continue to develop their careers, learn new skills, try new things and also share their broad knowledge and experience.
“This is good for everyone, and particularly for employers and their businesses who will benefit from drawing on the talent, creativity and experience of all their employees, regardless of age.”
Mr Briggs works with the Business in the Community group to help businesses retain, retrain and recruit older workers.
The Government announced a new strategy last week aimed at increasing the number of older workers.