UK manufacturing slows to three-month low January 2, 2015 UK manufacturing has hit an unexpected blip, slowing to a three-month low in December. The UK purchasing managers' index (PMI), from Markit/CIPS, slowed to 52.5, below the 53.7 score expected by economists polled by Reuters and lower too than the 53.3 recorded in October and November. Any score above 50 points indicates growth. [...]
George Osborne takes a swipe at Vince Cable on Twitter January 2, 2015 As we approach the general election expect the rift between the Conservatives and their Lib Dem coalition partners to widen ever further as they prepare to tear each other to shreds over the coming months. Rarely a week goes by without a Lib Dem MP or minister warning the nation of the dire prospect of [...]
Plane forced to make emergency landing at Southend Airport after blaze January 2, 2015 A plane has been forced to make an emergency landing at Southend airport after a reported engine fire. According to the BBC, fire crews were called to put out flames on a plane carrying 28 passengers, but the fire was out by the time the plane landed and no one was injured. https://twitter.com/BBCLookEast/status/550967133149356033 [...]
Keeping chocolate prices down: A huge greenhouse in Reading could save the world’s cocoa supply through new genetic material January 2, 2015 With demand for chocolate outstripping supply at an unprecedented rate, its price is set to soar in 2015. But a giant greenhouse in Reading has come to the rescue, and could stop chocolate from becoming the preserve of the very wealthy. The International Cocoa Quarantine Centre has been in operation for one month and [...]
Quindell share price jumps 16 per cent as it confirms plans to sell part of its business January 2, 2015 It looks as though Quindell is making an early start to its new year's resolutions. Shares in the troubled insurance outsourcer jumped more than 16 per cent in mid-morning trading after it confirmed this morning it has entered into exclusivity arrangements with a third party to dispose an operating division in order to improve its [...]
Bank of England: Mortgage approvals fall to 17-month low January 2, 2015 The number of mortgages rubber-stamped by banks dropped again in November, although by less than analysts had expected. Nevertheless, the figure is a 17-month low, underlining the trajectory of the market. During the month, banks approved 59,029 mortgages, down from 59,511 in October, but above the 58,500 analyst consensus. The fall has been a [...]
Tesla founder Elon Musk divorces his British wife – for the second time January 2, 2015 It can't be easy living with a multi-billionaire with so many ideas that he has to offer some of them to other people because he doesn't have time to take advantage of them all. But you'd have thought that's a lesson Tesla founder Elon Musk's soon-to-be ex-wife, British actress Talulah Riley, might have learned the [...]
Plane blown off Stornoway airport runway on Scotland’s Isle of Lewis January 2, 2015 A plane has been blown off the runway Stornoway airport, according to reports. The airport is located on the Isle of Lewis which is the northern most part of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. The area is notorious for storms and severe weather. Reports indicate that the plane experienced troubles with its wheels thanks to [...]
More rush hour rail chaos with long delays on Virgin and London Midland lines as fare rises come into effect January 2, 2015 Rail passengers faced the dual indignities of a 2.5 per cent increase in ticket costs and more rail delays this morning, as fare price rises came into effect. The price rise applied to regulated fares, which includes most season tickets, although the average fare rose 2.2 per cent. Lines were held up between London and [...]
Conservatives unveil first poster of 2015 election campaign January 2, 2015 The Conservative Party has wasted no time in making the economy the centrepiece of this year's general election. Today the Conservatives will unveil their first campaign poster of the year which highlights the party's message that the country is on the right economic track and can't risk a change of course. The poster says since [...]