Light at the end of the North Sea oil pipeline: Oil firms have all taken a hit by the decline in global crude prices. But has it hit rock bottom? August 19, 2015 The affect of fraught conditions in oil markets on North Sea companies was revealed yesterday as John Wood Group and Cairn Energy announced their half-year results. Wood Group revealed it has axed around 5,000 jobs in response to the decline in crude oil prices, with 1,000 of them coming from North Sea operations. The company’s [...]
Public health lobby give green light to e-cigs August 19, 2015 HEALTH officials have today given their backing to the use of e-cigarettes, claiming the devices are a “game changer in public health”. Public Health England (PHE) even recommended that e-cigarettes be made available to smokers by the NHS on prescription, as it tore into claims that the products, designed to simulate smoking, act as a [...]
George Osborne facing pressure from UK building societies over ‘perverse’ bank surcharge August 19, 2015 The Treasury is under fire from Britain’s building societies, who say that a new tax will cost them at least £630m over the next five years – and choke off £20bn worth of lending. Mortgage lenders want the government to think again. “As you would expect the sector is positively engaging with HM Treasury,” Building [...]
American Apparel warns it might close August 19, 2015 American Apparel yesterday warned it might go out of business within a year, even after the clothing chain increased its credit line. It reported that sales sank 17 per cent to $134.4m (£86m), and the net loss expanded to $19.4m from $16.2m. It has been in turmoil since it suspended and then fired founder and [...]
Cruise ship takes on Tower Bridge: Wins August 19, 2015 A huge cruise ship successfully squeezed under Tower Bridge over the weekend as London braces itself for a possible future as a number one destination for cruise liners. Onlookers watched in awe as Silversea’s Silver Cloud monolith came through Tower Bridge on its way to tour eastern Europe, before heading back to London. Left hand down [...]
Join the house party at the decadent Dolls House in Islington August 18, 2015 If you were decorating a doll's house, wouldn't you want to stamp your style on it? That's just what Adam Towner and Katy Gray Rosewarne, the owners of the full-size Dolls House in Islington, have done. Prepare yourself for whimsical interiors, complete with hand-illustrated walls, buttoned banquettes and ranks of glass decanters. So much [...]
Fitch upgrades Greece’s long-term currency rating to CCC August 18, 2015 Fitch has become more optimistic about Greece's ability to pay off its debt. Today, the ratings agency upgraded the country's long-term foreign and local currency ratings by one notch from CC to CCC. It said the change was down to an agreement reached last week by Greece and its European creditors to release [...]
London is leading the UK’s tech boom – but it needs immigration to stay ahead August 18, 2015 UK employment figures published by the ONS last week showed there's no shortage of workers across London and the rest of the country, but that doesn't mean they have the right skills to keep Britain ahead in some key sectors. Read more: London Technology Week: It's official – London's the capital of European tech [...]
If your doctor can’t prescribe you antibiotics, watching and waiting will be the only alternative August 18, 2015 From now on, we'll have to endure our sore throats and sniffles for as long as they choose to plague us – doctors in the UK have been advised against prescribing antibiotics as readily as they do at the moment, which means people with minor ailments will just have to sit back and wait for [...]