Balfour Beatty wins £73m coastal defence contracts October 28, 2013 Balfour Beatty has today announced it has been awarded two coastal defence contracts worth £73m. (Release) The contracts, which are for Blackpool and Wyre Council, will see the infrastructure company replace over 2.9km of the original 1930s seawalls, as part of the promenade renewal and beach management projects, the Anchorsholme and Rossall schemes. The projects [...]
What you need to know before the open – 28/10 October 28, 2013 European markets look set for a marginally upbeat open this morning after a positive finish in the US on Friday. Traders may well be somewhat windswept in London this morning, though, as St Jude hits the UK. Markets due for a stronger open FTSE +25. Not quite so positive for Greater Anglia who have cancelled [...]
Storm chaos as gale force winds hit Britain October 28, 2013 Cancelled rail services leave London and South East in lockdown as gale force winds hit COMMUTERS are facing chaos this morning after the looming storm heading towards southern Britain prompted rail companies to cancel and delay a swathe of services. While the exact timing of the worst of the St Jude storm could not be [...]
The generous icon who built Canary Wharf October 28, 2013 THE MAN who transformed Canary Wharf from derelict dockland into a financial powerhouse died on Friday at the age of 83. Paul Reichmann, a Vienna-born Canadian, led the construction of east London’s iconic skyscrapers after a request from Margaret Thatcher to revive the site in 1987. He saw his family company, Olympia & York, fall [...]
City analysts say carbon tax should be scrapped October 28, 2013 THE CARBON tax should be scrapped before it makes domestic energy supplies more expensive than imports, city analysts at Macquarie warned over the weekend. The UK government’s levy on coal and gas, which is called the carbon price floor, was implemented earlier this year and encourages firms to invest in low-carbon energy production. It adds [...]
Welfare reforms rolled out in London today October 28, 2013 THE GOVERNMENT’S flagship benefits reforms will be introduced in part of London from today – the first time that the scheme has been implemented in the capital. New jobseekers in Hammersmith will now receive Universal Credit, a new benefit that combines six existing payments into one package. Ministers hope that the policy – which sees [...]
Argentina coalition loses clout October 28, 2013 Argentine leader Cristina Fernandez’s allies took a beating in yesterday’s midterm election, shrinking her congressional majority, snuffing out chances of a constitutional change to allow her a third term and kicking off the contest to succeed her in 2015. Voters chose half of the lower house of Congress and a third of the Senate in [...]
Chile blocks Glencore Xstrata dam October 28, 2013 A Chilean appeals court has preventively blocked a recently approved $733m hydroelectric dam to weigh an environmental appeal, a surprise setback for owners Origin Energy and Glencore Xstrata. Opponents of the 640-megawatt Rio Cuervo project planned in the remote southern Aysen region say it would harm the environment and would be built above a geological [...]
Schaeuble drops debt goals October 28, 2013 Germany’s finance minister appears to have dropped his insistence on starting to pay back the country’s debt from 2015, focusing instead on not borrowing more and not raising taxes. In an advance copy of an interview with Focus magazine, Wolfgang Schaeuble said the aim was to issue no new debt from 2015 and to cut [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 28 October 2013 October 28, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Big Six face challenge over bills Britain’s energy regulator is on course to clash with the “Big Six” power companies this week over the importance of wholesale gas and electricity prices in rising customer bills. Data from energy regulator Ofgem show wholesale prices have been almost flat over the past year, rising by [...]