Douglas Carswell’s birthday present to David Cameron: Ukip’s first Westminster win? September 2, 2014 The date of the Clacton by-election has been set for 9 October. Douglas Carswell will put himself before his constituents and see whether his decision to jump ship from the Tories to Ukip will be rewarded or punished. If the polls are anything to go by, Carswell is looking at a landslide victory – the [...]
UK construction index surges ahead of expectations September 2, 2014 UK construction powered ahead last month, with the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rising above consensus expectations. August's construction PMI rose to 64 – its highest since January, and well above the consensus line of 61.5. The markets had been expecting a drop from July's level of 62.4. It is also above its average [...]
Boris vows to fight on for Thames Estuary airport, calling Heathrow third runway “political kryptonite” and Davies Commission “irrelevant” September 2, 2014 London mayor Boris Johnson will continue fighting for a Thames Estuary airport- despite the idea being ruled out Sir Howard Davies' Airports Commission today– calling the organisation “irrelevant” and a third runway at Heathrow “political kryptonite.” In a statement from City Hall, Johnson said he “cannot conceive of any possible scenario in which a government [...]
Scuppered Pfizer-AstraZeneca deal leaves UK M&A at an all-time low September 2, 2014 Pfizer's thwarted acquisition of AstraZeneca may have kept proponents of British business happy – but it also helped push the number of mergers and acquisitions taking place in the UK to a historic low in the second quarter of 2014, official figures published this morning showed. The number of mergers and acquisitions involving UK companies [...]
Quindell share price opens down but rallies with RAC black box buy September 2, 2014 Quindell’s shares opened five per cent down this morning but then rallied six per cent on yesterday’s close after the company announced it was buying the RAC’s stake in joint venture CCS. Quindell said it will take full control of Connected Car Solutions, which makes “black boxes” for cars, in a restructure costing £18.5m, but [...]
Uber taxi app banned throughout Germany after Frankfurt ruling September 2, 2014 In what may be the severest crackdown on taxi app service Uber seen so far, Germany has banned the San Francisco-based company from operating throughout the country after a temporary injunction was issued by the Frankfurt regional court. Uber will be subjected fines of up to €250,000 (£198,000) if it defies the ban. The injunction [...]
Premier League transfer window mapped: Who’s signed who and for how much September 2, 2014 Premier League clubs spent a record-breaking £889m during this summer’s transfer window, on a total of 163 players. The league’s total transfer earnings stood at £451m, meaning a net spend of £438m. Our interactive map allows you to explore the transfer activity for every single club, including Manchester United’s colossal £152m net spend, and [...]
China to replace Europe as world’s biggest carbon market September 2, 2014 The world's second largest economy is planning to roll out a national market for carbon permit trading in 2016, according to officials. The rules for the market are currently being finalised and, if all goes to plan, within a few years China will replace Europe as the world's biggest trader in emissions. China [...]
UK property market: Redrow share price rises as it posts 91 per cent profit increase September 2, 2014 Despite recent signs of slowing growth in house prices, housebuilders are still riding a healthy property market wave – Redrow is the latest to post stellar results, with a 91 per cent rise in profits. Help to Buy helped the housebuilder make a record £132.6m pre-tax profit for the year to June, compared with £69.4m [...]
Bye-bye Boris Island: Economic disruption and environmental hurdles of Thames Estuary airport too huge and time-consuming September 2, 2014 Plans supported by London mayor Boris Johnson to build a new airport on the Thames estuary have been sunk by the Airports Commission. The so-called “Boris Island” airport has been ruled out by a commission led by former London School of Economics director Sir Howard Davies into options for increasing the air capacity in the [...]