Ollie Phillips: Playing Scotland will be England’s biggest Six Nations test, but Ireland more likely to stop third title on the trot February 1, 2018 When Scotland travel to Wales this weekend, they do so sniffing the opportunity of a first Six Nations title in 18 years. They’re hungry. They’re buoyant from fantastic performances in the autumn, when they narrowly missed out on beating the All Blacks and smashed Australia. They have a really savvy coach in Gregor Townsend and [...]
Higher oil prices push Shell earnings up 184 per cent February 1, 2018 Royal Dutch Shell has reported a 184 per cent increase in income for 2017, thanks in part to higher oil and gas prices. The figures Income rose to $12.98bn (£9.11bn) last year, compared with $4.58bn in 2016. Basic earnings per share rose 172 per cent, from $0.58 to $1.58, and the dividend was maintained at [...]
Property of the Week: The former Johnson family home has been done up and is now on the market for £11.25m February 1, 2018 Looking for a home that’s fit for a foreign secretary? This five storey Victorian townhouse on Regent’s Park Road was the childhood home of Boris, Rachel and a whole host of Johnsons, including jungle-botherer and father of the thatched brood, Stanley. 60 Regent's Park Road, Primrose Hill, £11.25m Legend has it that he lived in [...]
Dragons’ Den star Julie Meyer’s bust venture capital firm Ariadne Capital owed almost £2m to employees and advisers, administrators’ report reveals February 1, 2018 The venture capital and corporate finance firm of former Dragons’ Den star Julie Meyer, which was put into administration at the end of last year, owes almost £2m to unpaid employees and advisers, City A.M. can reveal. Ariadne Capital, which was founded and owned by TV personality Julie Meyer, owes £530,692 to 14 current and [...]
City Hall presses Philip Hammond to return Londoners’ £500m in vehicle excise duty February 1, 2018 The London Assembly is pressing Philip Hammond to return some of the £500m the capital contributes to the government in vehicle excise duty (VED). Sadiq Khan has complained that none of the VED generated by London is spent on roads in the capital, which he says has put a strain on Transport for London (TfL), [...]
Sainsbury’s takes full control of Nectar in £60m deal with Aimia February 1, 2018 Sainsbury’s has paid £60m to take full control of the Nectar loyalty scheme, giving it greater access to information about customer habits. It said the decision to acquire the shares in the programme from analytics firm Aimia Inc UK was part of a strategy “of knowing its customers better than anyone else”. While consumers will [...]
Amazon overtakes Google as world’s most valuable brand February 1, 2018 Amazon has overtaken Google as the world's most valuable brand in the latest tussle of the tech giants. The retail and technology behemoth which just yesterday announced a move into healthcare, is valued at $150bn (£106bn), new research reveals, a rise of more than 40 per cent which helped it leapfrog Google. Apple maintained its [...]
EBay just ditched PayPal for a fintech startup unicorn from Europe to process all its payments February 1, 2018 EBay is ditching PayPal, the US giant which used to be part of the online marketplace, and instead will be turning to a highly valued fintech startup from Europe as its main payments processor. The move is a huge vote of confidence for the startup, Adyen, and will fuel speculation around an IPO of the [...]
Ocean Liners: Speed and Style review: A new V&A exhibition is showcasing the glamour days of cruise liner lifestyle February 1, 2018 For about a hundred years ocean liners were the primary mode of intercontinental travel. First they ferried immigrants across the Atlantic in their huddled masses, then became vital troop transport during the First World War, before finally evolving into the luxurious art deco hotels on waves we recognise from our favourite period nautical dramas [...]
Europe lacks giant tech stocks – but it may lead with the ‘industrial internet’ February 1, 2018 | City Talk In the US, tech firms have been responsible for 42% of the rise in the value of the US stock market since 2014, according to a report in The Economist. Emerging markets too have their own tech giants in Alibaba and Tencent. But where are the tech companies here in Europe? And could emerging technologies [...]