UK must decarbonise heating, but not through hydrogen, Centrica boss says after government commitment March 19, 2019 Britain and other countries must remove carbon from their heating and cooling, British Gas owner Centrica said today, but warned a move to make the gas grid run on hydrogen is “unlikely to be practical”. Centrica chief executive Iain Conn said natural gas would be “crucial” in the transition to reducing carbon emissions, and that Britain [...]
Business investment could take years to bounce back from Brexit, says top economist March 19, 2019 One of Britain’s top economists has said the UK's slowdown in business investment is attributable to Brexit and warned that it may only bounce back gradually over several years. Yet Brexit has only played a small part in Britain’s sluggish productivity growth, Sir Charlie Bean, speaking as a committee member of the Office for Budget [...]
Stationery chain Office Outlet falls into administration March 19, 2019 Office Outlet, the stationery retailer formerly belonging to Staples, has collapsed into administration, putting 1,000 jobs at risk. In the latest sign of industry stress on Britain's high streets, the retailer yesterday drafted in administrators from accountancy firm Deloitte, throwing the future of 1,000 jobs and 90 stores into doubt. The stationary giant approved a controversial restructuring [...]
‘London, please deliver’: EU leaders react to possible Brexit delay following John Bercow ruling March 19, 2019 EU leaders have hit back at the "unacceptable" uncertainty around Brexit stirred by John Bercow's decision to block a third meaningful vote on Theresa May's withdrawal agreement. France's Europe minister Nathalie Loiseau said an extension to Article 50 – the mechanism that allows the UK to leave the EU – without an "objective or strategy" would be [...]
UK national security at risk over Huawei 5G plans, Trump officials warn March 19, 2019 The UK’s plans for building a 5G mobile network are putting national security at risk, Trump officials have warned, as the US urges its allies not to partner with Huawei. Senior US officials warned the UK’s system of testing Huawei equipment would not be enough to ensure the country’s 5G network is secure, the Financial [...]
Netflix will not partner with Apple’s streaming service, says boss March 19, 2019 Streaming giant Netflix has said it will not make its films and TV shows available on Apple’s on-demand video platform, as competition in the sector begins to heat up. Chief executive Reed Hastings told reporters in Hollywood the firm will not cooperate with Apple, which is expected to unveil a new video platform at an [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen wins dispute with Lloyds over management of £100bn assets March 19, 2019 Standard Life Aberdeen has won its legal dispute with Lloyds Banking Group over the management of £100bn in assets. An arbitral tribunal has ruled that Lloyds was not entitled to give notice in February last year to terminate its investment management contract with Standard Life Aberdeen. Read more: Standard Life Aberdeen scraps co-chief executive structure The [...]
Myspace loses 12 years worth of music in botcher server migration March 19, 2019 Fallen social media giant Myspace has admitted to losing 12 years worth of music following a botched server migration. Read more: European data breaches hit 60,000 in eight months An estimated 50m songs from 14m artists that were uploaded onto the website between 2003 and 2015 are lost, the once-great social network said. The firm blamed a [...]
Marshalls shares race to record high: What now? March 19, 2019 | City Talk Up 78 per cent since we backed them, the shares are still not expensive and the business is in great shape. Marshalls (LSE:MSLH) is an easy company to like. It makes things we all use on a daily basis, and it makes them well. Despite Brexit and a weak construction sector, its concrete paving slabs have [...]
Gold, the Federal Reserve, and the dollar – what’s driving up precious metal prices? March 19, 2019 Gold has been making a comeback. After a long period with little activity last year, the precious metal’s value has risen as stock markets have struggled and fallen. Combine the volatility of equities with the increase in geopolitical fears, and many investors are re-evaluating whether to increase the amount of gold in their portfolios. The [...]