City watchdog the Financial Conduct Authority wasted £3.2 million of taxpayers' money on a deal with Oracle for software that was never used. FCA officials admitted that the agency only required £1 million for a software they needed. But according to reports from This Is Money, the FCA paid a total of £4.2 million for a deal with San Francisco-based tech giant Oracle.
Europe
Financial Advisers Raised Fees for Getting Pension Help after Freedom Reforms
Financial advisers increased basic pension services fees over the year after freedom reforms, according to new study. This is Money reports that financial advisers raised the cost for pension help by 16 to 17 percent. To get advice on how to turn a £100,000 pension pot into a lump sum, advisers increased their fees to £1,750 from £1,500. Meanwhile, the fee for a drawdown scheme for £300,000 pot has increased to £3,500 from £3,000. These are the middle figures from adviser website unbiased.co.uk from October 2014 to July 2015.
French Industry Production Plunges Lower to 0.8%, Lowest Since November 2014
French Industry slumps lower in the third quarter as production unexpectedly fell to 0.8%, a number lowest since November 2014. Economists forecasted a 0.2 increase according to Bloomberg survey, making the 0.8 percent downward curve such a big surprise. The statistics office reported Thursday that French industry output fell by 0.8 percent annually. Meanwhile, manufacturing output also dropped by 1 percent this month.
BMW invests millions in a startup that parks your car
BMW, the German automaker is investing millions in a new parking startup based in San Francisco. BMW through its investment unit, BMW i Ventures is investing an undisclosed amount in an on-demand parking company called ZIRX. The news was confirmed by ZIRX CEO and co-founder himself, Sean Behr.
Europe milk over-supply makes it cheaper than water
Milk is overflowing in Europe for a lot of reasons, chief of these is that Russia has stopped the importation of milk while Chinese demand has lessened. There is so much splashing around the European Union that makes milk always less expensive than bottled water. In U.K., a liter of bottled water costs $1.50 while a liter of milk costs only $1. The same is almost true in France. In German supermarkets like Aldi and Lidl, a liter of milk costs only about 55¢ while a liter of bottled water costs around 72¢.
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As the supply for homes being sold goes down, statistics suggest an increase of potential buyers. This could lead to boom in house prices. Statistics from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) this week expects to see a surge in potential new home buyers as reported by This Is Money. As supply of houses being sold is dwindling, another boom in house prices could well be on the way.
When people talk about successful startup tech companies, the first thing that comes to mind is Silicon Valley. But half way across the world, four bright founders from Britain are changing the startup venture industry.
As part of its business expansion drive, craft beer maker BrewDog is raising funds through Crowdcube, which is UK's biggest crowdfunding platform. The Scottish BrewDog will raise GBP 25million though two crowdfunding routes by next April.
The encouraging rise in revenues and further growth potential have helped industrial equipment hire group Ashtead to top the FTSE-100 stocks in terms of price rise in the market.
Reebok, the sportswear from Germany, is heading to fitness business, with its major marketing campaign "Be More Human" in Berlin, Germany with partnership from CrossFit, Les Mills and Spartan Race.
Global markets these days have become more and more unpredictable with the US and Chinese stocks' consistent historical upswings and plunges in the past few months. To make things worse, the oil price has hit a six and a half year low. The condition can finally be compared to the days right after the 9/11 attacks.
The economic development of Spain is proving that the euro zone was tackling its crisis well, according to the German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Tuesday. "Spain is the best example that we've done a lot of things quite right in Europe," Schaeuble said at a business conference in Berlin, adding that he was optimistic about Spain's future development as long as Madrid stuck to its reform policies.
The new 2016 Kia Sportage SUV is "bold" with a progressive style that lets it stay out in the leading edge of the industry. Kia is determined to stay in front of everyone else when it comes to progressive style with its unveiling of the new Sportage. The sports utility vehicle will be introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show next week.
The holdings by rest of the world in UK stock market in 2014 stood at 54 percent and this remains at the same level of that in 2012. However, there's much increase in foreign investors' holding when compared with 31 percent in 1998.
