Big Oil is sleepwalking into crisis by underestimating the electric car revolution February 15, 2017 The “disruptive” label is overused. However, the unexpected pace of advancement in clean technology over the past decade has taken many established utility companies by surprise. And despite recent, largely reassuring results from the oil sector, Europe’s utilities provide a potentially prophetic glimpse into its future. In the German city of Hamm, the Westfalen D [...]
A tale of two Eurozones: Greater Germany and Club Med are drifting ever further apart February 15, 2017 At the end of last week Federica Mogherini met leading members of the Trump administration. Mogherini, yet another Italian politician turned Euro-bureaucrat, is in fact the foreign policy chief of the European Union. She stood on her dignity, or rather the dignity of the European Commission, issuing a warning to America not to interfere with [...]
It’s time for diversity at the Bank of England February 15, 2017 The financial crash knocked some of the stuffing out of the economics profession, though you wouldn’t know it given the confidence with which economists still parade their forecasts. A few – especially those with a monetarist or Austrian inclination – publicly expressed concern about policy in 2005-2007, but nobody from the mainstream predicted a financial meltdown. [...]
As his national security adviser resigns over ties to Russia, is Trump’s administration malevolent or just incompetent? February 15, 2017 Dr Joe Devanny, research fellow at the Policy Institute, King’s College London, says Incompetent. Donald Trump has been President of the United States for less than 30 days. We can already say that competence has been in short supply, even by the historical standards of transition processes, which are rarely glitch-free. We have just seen [...]
Boiler breakdowns cost the UK £787m in bills last year February 15, 2017 UK families were forced to pay out more than £787m in unexpected boiler repair bills last year. Nearly a fifth of households (18 per cent) faced at least one boiler breakdown in the last year, and the average cost of repairing it came to £270, according to energy price comparison website uSwitch. However, a quarter [...]
A fifth of Brits are resigned to poor rail service as more than two million complaints were made in 2016 February 15, 2017 One in five Brits are resigned to poor rail service, with complaints up nearly half a million on last year. There were 2.04m complaints made regarding trains in 2016, according to Ombudsman Services' annual Consumer Action Monitor. The rail sector was responsible for 3.7 per cent of complaints last year, making up more than half of those [...]
Hitachi trains for Great Western Railway’s Devon and Cornwall route take shape February 15, 2017 The wheels are in motion for new intercity trains connecting London to Devon and Cornwall – well, in a manner of speaking. Hitachi Rail's Italian factory has just started work on the bodyshells for new trains which will begin running as far south as Penzance along coastal routes in Devon and Cornwall from next year. Karen [...]
Trian takes $3.5bn stake in P&G February 14, 2017 Trian Fund Management has disclosed that it bought a $3.5bn stake in Procter & Gamble, maker of Gillette razors and Crest toothpaste. The move makes Trian the second activist shareholder to become involved in the consumer products giant in the last five years, and it is now the largest stakeholder in P&G by some margin. Read [...]
Anthem hits back at Cigna’s $15bn lawsuit February 14, 2017 Health insurer Anthem has hit back at Cigna after it said it was terminating a merger between the two companies and wants $15bn (£12bn) in fees and damages. Anthem has said that Cigna cannot end the deal between the two companies. Cigna has filed a lawsuit demanding that Anthem pay $13bn in damages and $1.85bn in break up fees after [...]
Now German businesses are calling for post-Brexit partnership with UK February 14, 2017 Firms in Germany want to maintain strong ties with the UK once it departs the EU, the managing director of one of the country's major industry groups has said. "Ideally, we would have a deep and comprehensive partnership agreement on investment and trade," said Markus Kerber of BDI, according to Reuters. Kerber warned the fallout from Brexit could disrupt [...]