Author: LoveWorld UK

Union leaders have warned business groups against pushing Keir Starmer to water down Labour’s plans to introduce sweeping reforms of workers’ rights and a ban on zero-hours contracts. As the Labour leader comes under pressure from industry to scale back its shake-up of employment laws, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said the plans were “extremely popular” with voters and good for the economy. Calling on employers to “get on board” with Labour’s plans, the unions’ umbrella body published analysis showing as many as two-thirds of workers on zero-hours contracts had been with their current employer for more than a year.…

MPs investigating the Horizon scandal are demanding to see a note that a former chair of the Post Office says he sent to record his claim that he was instructed to stall on payments to wrongfully convicted post office operators. The use of powers by parliament’s business and trade committee to see the note comes amid pressure on the business secretary, Kemi Badenoch, to back up claims that the former Post Office chair Henry Staunton was under investigation for bullying when she sacked him. A war of words between Staunton and Badenoch – who launched an extended attack on him in parliament on…

NAPOLI AXE MAZZARRI – Calzona named caretaker coach  Napoli have appointed Francesco Calzona as caretaker coach until the end of the season following the sacking of Walter Mazzarri, the Serie A club confirmed. Mazzarri became the second managerial casualty at the club, following Rudi Garcia’s sacking in November, in a season which has seen their Serie A title defence fall apart since Luciano Spalletti left the club after last season’s Scudetto win. Calzona previously served as assistant manager at Napoli under Maurizio Sarri and Luciano Spalletti, but left the club in 2022 to take over as manager of Slovakia, who…

BARCLAYS REVEALS REVIVAL PLAN TO WOO INVESTORS AS PROFITS FALL – UK-based lender’s shake-up had already resulted in 5,000 job losses Barclays has revealed a revival plan to shore up support among investors that includes cutting costs and risk while bolstering returns. The UK-based lender’s shake-up had already resulted in 5,000 job losses, will also see an overhaul of management, some business disposals and £10bn returned to shareholders over three years. A total of £3bn was planned for 2023 – up 37% on the previous year. The plan was announced as Barclays reported a 6% decline in annual pre-tax profits…

Capital One to buy Discover Financial in $35.3 bln all-stock deal –  U.S. consumer bank Capital One plans to acquire U.S. credit card issuer Discover Financial Services in an all-stock transaction valued at $35.3 billion to create a global payments giant, the companies. The deal, which is expected to receive intense antitrust scrutiny, would also form the sixth-largest U.S. bank by assets and a U.S. credit card behemoth that would compete with rivals JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup. While Discover has a network that spans 200 countries and territories, it is still much smaller than rivals Visa, Mastercard and American Express.…

HOSPITAL WAITING LISTS TO EXCEED 7.7M BY DECEMBER 2024 If strikes continue, that number is expected to grow The Health Foundation have released new figures for NHS Waiting Lists.  The NHS waiting list for elective treatment in England has been growing since 2013 – almost tripling in size over the decade to 7.7 million. The waiting list had already reached 4.6 million before the pandemic. During the pandemic, the waiting list grew sharply, as care was suspended. Since then New referrals and completed pathways per working day continue to follow the existing trends at a growth rate of 5.0% and…

BABY WAS AMONG THREE CHILDREN FOUND DEAD BY POLICE IN BRISTOL Post-mortems will now take place to establish the children’s cause of death A 10-month-old baby was among three young children found dead in a “deeply distressing” incident in a Bristol home on Sunday, police have said. Police were called to Blaise Walk in the Sea Mills area of the city at 12.40 am on Sunday after receiving a “concern for welfare call”. The three children found at the property were a 10-month-old boy, a three-year-old girl and a boy aged seven. A woman, 42, has been arrested on suspicion…

DIAZ ACOSTA DOWNS JARRY TO WIN MAIDEN ATP TITLE IN BUENOS AIRES – 23-year-old Diaz Acosta defeated 3rd seed Nicolas Jarry 6-3 6-4 Buenos Aires native Facundo Diaz Acosta earned his first ATP tour title in front of a raucous home crowd at the Argentina Open. The 23-year-old, who is now in his second year on the tour, defeated third seed Nicolas Jarry 6-3 6-4 to win the ATP 250 clay court event. A wild card, Diaz Acosta had just four tour-level wins to his name before going on a Championship-winning run in which he did not drop a set.…

EU POISED TO FINE APPLE ABOUT 500 MILLION EUROS – Culmination of antitrust probe after Spotify complaint The European Union is set to hit Apple with its first ever antitrust fine as well as a ban on App Store rules that the bloc believes thwart competition according to reports. The fine of around €500 million is expected to be announced next month and Apple could have been fined as much as 10% of its annual global sales. The probe was sparked by a complaint in 2019 from Sweden’s Spotify, which claimed it was forced to ramp up its monthly subscription…

CURRYS TAKEOVER BATTLE LOOMS – Chinese e-commerce group JD.com wants £800m for electricals retailer Currys Currys could be at the centre of a takeover battle after the Chinese e-commerce group JD.com said it was considering an offer for the company. The potential bid emerged after Currys said at the weekend it had rejected a £700m takeover approach from US investment firm Elliott. JD.com said it was “in the very preliminary stages” of evaluating a possible bid for the retailer. Currys’ share price jumped by more than 30% as trading began on Monday. The retailer has more than 800 stores globally…