Tag: Featured

    The new 12-sided £1 coin - billed as "the most secure coin in the world" - will enter circulation on 28 March. The Royal Mint has unveiled the new circulating coin designs for the year with a pioneering theme linking them. The 12-sided £1 coin was designed by David Pearce and features the flora of the four nations of the UK emerging from a coronet. Then there's the £2 Jane Austen coin to celebrate the Hampshire author, the First World War Aviation £2 coin remembering the Royal Flying Corps and the Sir Isaac Newton 50p coin. Dr Kevin Clancy, director of the Royal Mint Museum, said: “This is a particularly significant year in Royal Mint history as we welcome in the new 12-sided £1 coin, with its innovative security features.” What makes the new £1 coin so special? • Well, it...

    The pound's value has collapsed against the dollar. The pound has hit its lowest level against the dollar since the UK voted to leave the EU, amid a sudden strengthening of the US currency. Sterling dipped below its post-Brexit low of $1.2081, if the trading blip caused by a so-called 'flash crash' is omitted, as US President-elect Donald Trump prepared to give his first news conference since November's election. But it later recovered some poise back above $1.21 as the billionairetook questions from reporters in what proved to be a fiery occasion. It settled higher than $1.22, leaving it up against the greenback on the session opening. Sterling has had a horror show of a week losing ground at the start of trading on Monday following remarks by PM Theresa May on Sky News t...

    A cancer specialist at an Essex trust said they had never seen so many cancer operations cancelled. More than 20 hospitals in England have had to declare a black alert this week after becoming so overcrowded that they could no longer guarantee patient safety and provide their full range of normal services. Unprecedented numbers of patients requiring care has led to at least 23 hospital trusts declaring they cannot cope since Monday, inquiries by the Guardian have established. Struggling hospitals have been forced to take highly unusual steps in order to manage a surge in demand for care. They include cancelling cancer operations, treating adults in children’s wards and even closing a birthing centre to help cope with a sudden influx of patients who need to be admitted for ...

    The Post Office is to close and franchise a further 37 Crown offices with a loss of around 300 staff. Some 127 financial specialist roles will also be cut, said the Communication Workers Union. Dave Ward, General Secretary of the CWU, said: the latest round of closures is further evidence that the Post Office is in crisis and that the board of the company, backed by the government, is simply pursuing a strategy of slash and burn. Today’s announcement comes less than three weeks after the closure of a major government consultation on the future of the Post Office and sticks two fingers up to everyone who took part in this. The union has staged strikes in protest at the closure of Crown Post Offices - the larger branches usually sited on high streets. A colourful protest was...

    The FTSE 100 saw the longest run of record closing highs yesterday as the index recorded its ninth consecutive gain on the back of further sterling weakness. The index, which closed the day up 37.7 points on 7,257, has hit a fresh record high at the close of every session for nine days, beating the record of eight closing highs set on 4 May 1997 following Tony Blair's General Election victory, according to The Daily Telegraph. This record-breaking run, which began when markets reopened after Christmas on 28 December, is the longest since the index's inception in 1984. As well as its ninth consecutive all-time closing high, the FTSE 100 also registered its 11th successive daily gain in a row, matching the record set three times in 1997, 2004 and 2009. FTSE 100 shares receiv...