BlackRock adds to its UK solar investments by snapping up two more projects February 15, 2017 A BlackRock managed fund has acquired two operational solar projects in the UK from a German developer. The world's largest investment manager bought a 100 per cent stake in a 12-megawatt solar farm in Essex (Ardleigh) and a 5-megawatt farm in Derbyshire (Drakelow) from Germany's IB Vogt. The farms, which are supported by 20-year fixed price green certificates, have [...]
Nigel Farage is staying away from the rest of the Stoke by-election campaign, even though it features his successor February 15, 2017 Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage is to give the Stoke Central by-election a wide berth, despite the fact that his successor is currently battling to enter parliament in the midlands constituency. Current Ukip boss Paul Nuttall is among the candidates to replace former Labour MP Tristram Hunt, who quit to take over London's V&A museum. However, while Farage [...]
Inflation will push living costs 10 per cent higher than pre-crisis peak February 15, 2017 Inflation could push the cost of living 10 per cent higher than before the financial crisis by 2020, with 11m families below a poverty benchmark, according to a new report. Almost a third of the UK’s population falls below the minimum income standard measure used in the report by academics at Loughborough University and the [...]
UK investors are at their most confident since the Brexit vote, despite continued uncertainty February 15, 2017 UK investors are becoming increasingly confident despite continued uncertainty around Brexit, new figures show. Investor sentiment has risen to its highest level since before the EU referendum, according to a Lloyds Bank survey of more than 4,000 adults. Overall, Lloyds reported net investor sentiment was at 6.1 per cent in February, up from 5.7 per cent in [...]
Amazon’s delivery drones could one day be dropping packages by parachute February 15, 2017 Amazon has filed another very interesting patent. At the end of last year, it was revealed Amazon had filed a patent for a flying airship warehouse designed to speed up drone deliveries. As you do. And now the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted the e-commerce giant a patent for a new way to deliver [...]
Industrial strategy needs a three-pillared approach to boost British productivity February 15, 2017 It is clear that government intervention is required to address faltering productivity across the UK, and that this could be a positive step towards meeting the underlying structural challenges facing the UK economy, such as regional inequality and low wage growth. The government has now released its industrial strategy to address such issues. So how does [...]
EU parliament votes through landmark Canadian trade deal February 15, 2017 The EU parliament has given the thumbs up to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the EU-Canada free trade deal. The deal, which has been almost eight years in the making, risked crumbling late last year, when the parliament of the Belgian region of Wallonia refused to give it the green light over concerns regarding labour laws [...]
Bank of England: Sorry, vegans. We’re keeping the polymer £5 note February 15, 2017 The Bank of England is keeping the £5 note – despite concerns from animal activists, it said today. Veggies were outraged in November after it emerged the plastic fiver, which was launched in September, contained tiny amounts of tallow, a form of animal fat. After a consultation, the Bank has not only said it's going [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan announces new electric-only bus routes to curb toxic transport emissions in the capital February 15, 2017 Sadiq Khan has bolstered the number of electric bus routes in the capital, amid plans to crack down on London's air pollution problem. The London mayor said next spring, 36 buses on routes C1 and 70, which run between White City and Victoria and between South Kensington and Acton respectively, will become electric only. That will [...]
The number of days lost to industrial action soared by 89 per cent to 322,000 last year February 15, 2017 There were 322,000 working days lost to strike action in 2016, an increase of 89 per cent on the year before. According to official figures for the year ending December 2016 there were 322,000 days lost from 99 stoppages and 154,000 people took strike action. That compares to 170,000 days lost due to labour disputes in [...]