London mayor Sadiq Khan says it is vital government devolves more commuter routes to TfL after GTR franchise slammed as worst on rail network January 10, 2018 Sadiq Khan today said it was “vital” the government devolves more commuter routes to Transport for London (TfL) to tackle the “terrible services inflicted on London rail passengers”. His comments were in response to a new National Audit Office report, which found passengers on the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise suffered the worst [...]
British manufacturing records strongest output since 2008 January 10, 2018 British manufacturers sector produced its highest output since before the financial crisis struck at the end of last year, continuing their run of impressive growth over recent months. The three-month rolling average of the index of production reached 104.9 in November 2017, the highest since April 2008, when it was 105.5, according to the Office [...]
Sterling (GBP) falls as official data shows UK trade deficit widened in November January 10, 2018 The UK trade deficit narrowed by £2.1bn in the three months to November last year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). However, the UK total trade deficit widened between October and November last year, “due primarily to an increase in goods imports of fuels from non-EU countries”. The pound had tumbled 0.32 per [...]
Facebook will take on Amazon Echo with smart home device Portal set for May launch January 10, 2018 Watch out Amazon, it looks like Facebook is about to muscle in on smart home territory. The social networking giant is poised to launch a device for chatting via video, according to a report, similar to Amazon’s Echo Show which is a smart speaker with a screen powered by the Alexa voice assistant. Read more: [...]
Ethereum price bucks negative trend of bitcoin and Ripple to reach an all-time high January 10, 2018 While nearly all major cryptocurrencies traded in the red today, ethereum shot up to an all-time high. Ethereum, which recently reclaimed its spot as the second biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, rose to a high of $1,417 today, according to Coindesk’s aggregate price. Meanwhile, bitcoin dropped below $14,000 to trade down more than five per [...]
Hong Kong horse racing betting tips: Magic Moreira Encore can leave rival Purton trailing behind January 10, 2018 CHAMPION jockey Joao Moreira hasn’t had everything go his way so far this season. He may still lead the jockeys championship with 55 winners, but has opted to ride the wrong horse in too many races. Most notably when passing over last month’s HK International Sprint winner Mr Stunning – having ridden him to victory [...]
Can Virgin stay on track after its recent rail controversies? January 10, 2018 Over the past few months, various parts of Virgin’s rail operation have faced controversy. Recently, news broke that the Virgin Trains East Coast (VTEC) contract had been terminated three years earlier than planned. When former Labour minister Andrew Adonis resigned from his role as government infrastructure tsar he hit out at transport secretary Chris Grayling, [...]
A robot tax is a tempting but misguided response to our public funding crisis January 10, 2018 The threats posed by automation are now a common topic for futurologists. The reality is that automation has been quietly progressing for some time, and while we are a long way off a Skynet-style singularity, the development of artificial intelligence means robots are not only taking our current jobs, they are going to take more. [...]
Southern rail franchise faces spending watchdog criticism for giving passengers “worst service” on Britain’s rail network January 10, 2018 The huge Southern rail franchise has been criticised by parliament’s spending watchdog as failing to deliver value for money, with passengers experiencing the worst service performance on the national rail network. Major disruption to the Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise has resulted in the assessment given in a National Audit Office report out [...]
World Bank warns 2018 could be last hurrah for strong global growth as it upgrades forecasts January 9, 2018 An acceleration in the global economic expansion this year threatens to be a last hurrah for rising prosperity if governments allow the productivity slowdown to continue, according to the World Bank. The organisation, which focuses on promoting international development, predicts global GDP growth will edge up to 3.1 per cent in 2018 from an estimated [...]