Uber surge pricing curbed by New York attorney general July 8, 2014 Uber will no longer apply surge pricing to its service during emergencies and other extreme events to avoid falling foul of price gouging laws in the US. The controversial taxi service hikes fares in line with higher demand, but doing so during incidents such as a hurricane Sandy caused lawmakers to consider the regulations in more [...]
Alcoa share price up on better than expected results kicking of earnings season July 8, 2014 Alcoa has beaten expectations with its second quarter results. Profits at the aluminium producer hit $0.18 per share on $5.8bn sales, before restructuring and other items, ahead of the $0.12 per share on $5.6bn of sales widely expected. The performance compares to profits of $0.07 per share in the same period last year and $0.09 [...]
Nike ends Manchester United kit sponsorship deal after 13 years due to rising cost July 8, 2014 Nike will no longer sponsor the kit of Manchester United after the next Premier League season due to the mounting costs of the deal. It marks the end of a 13-year partnership between the world’s biggest sport brand and one of the most popular football clubs in the world. Nike said in a statement: "Any [...]
ONS website savaged: Review fails to find any user that was not critical of body’s online offerings July 8, 2014 No-one likes the Office for National Statisics (ONS) website. That's the finding of a new review of the body, released today. "Without exception, the users and stakeholders we spoke to were critical of the ONS website," said the review's authors. The range of problems encountered with institution's interface are wide ranging. Users complained about the [...]
In graphs: Country house prices on the rise as the London effect spreads July 8, 2014 As house prices in London continue to rise, the effect is beginning to spread to properties outside the capital, including country houses. According to research from Knight Frank, a real estate consultancy company, prime country house prices rose by 1.1 per cent in the last quarter and by 5.2 per cent over the year to [...]
London rent prices rise in leafy south east while Kensington sees drop July 8, 2014 Rental prices in London have jumped by nearly 7 per cent with the south east London boroughs of Bromley, Bexley and Greenwich experiencing the biggest rises. The price of a room rental in the capital has jumped above the £600 mark, hitting £609 on average over the year to June, up from £571 the previous [...]
Could the Ebola outbreak spread to the UK? July 8, 2014 The outbreak of Ebola that is currently spreading through parts of west Africa has already killed more people than any previous outbreak of the disease. The epidemic began in Guinea in March this year and has since spread to Sierra Leone and Liberia. According to figures from the World Health Organisation (WHO), it had [...]
£160m plans to redevelop Smithfield Market turned down July 8, 2014 London's Smithfield Market will not be redeveloped after Whitehall ruled against a plans to renovate the Farringdon landmark. Property Investor TIAA Henderson had wanted to turn the run-down Victorian market into a collection of shops and eateries – as well as an office block – at a cost of £160m. Instead, the proposal was turned down [...]
Pharma wars: Shire share price leaps as AbbVie hikes offer to £51.15 July 8, 2014 US-based pharmaceuticals company AbbVie has hiked its offer for Shire to £51.15 per share in the form of cash and shares. Following AbbVie's 25 June announcement it has said that it has "met with, or spoken to, a large number of Shire shareholders, who collectively represent a majority of Shire's outstanding shares". "The majority of [...]
Chinese company approved to build $40bn, 172-mile canal across Nicaragua July 8, 2014 Nicaragua looks set to get a $40bn canal that will span the country after a committee signed off on the project. The canal will be built by the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (HKND), headed by Chinese tycoon and lawyer Wang Jing. The waterway will be 172 miles in length, making it more than [...]