Article 50: MPs will get five days to debate Brexit bill January 26, 2017 Legislation granting Prime Minister Theresa May power to launch Brexit talks has been formally unveiled today. House of Commons leader David Lidington said MPs will have five days to debate Article 50, starting from next Tuesday. It means that the House of Commons will vote on the legislation on 8 February. MPs challenged the amount of [...]
Keystone XL still faces obstacles even with Trump’s approval January 26, 2017 President Donald Trump moved to fulfill one of his campaign promises on Tuesday, signing an executive order to revive the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines. The former had been rejected outright by the Obama administration while the latter had been given an indefinite delay. The industry hailed the executive order, but just because President [...]
Johnson & Johnson to snap up Swiss biotech company Actelion for $30bn January 26, 2017 Johnson & Johnson (J&J) is snapping up Europe's biggest biotech company Actelion in a $30bn (£23.7bn) deal. According to Dealogic, this is the biggest M&A deal announced so far in 2017 and the biggest acquisition on record by Johnson & Johnson. J&J, which is the world's biggest healthcare group, is also funding a new research and development company [...]
UK economy sees no Brexit downturn with two per cent growth in 2016 January 26, 2017 The UK ended 2016 on a high as economic growth in the last three months of the year showed little sign of a hit in the aftermath of the Brexit vote. The economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter, beating economists’ expectations. This means the UK economy grew by two per cent [...]
HS2 announces CH2M’s European boss Mark Thurston as new chief executive January 26, 2017 HS2 has appointed CH2M's Mark Thurston as its new chief executive. His appointment comes after a five-month hunt, which considered 20 potential candidates working on projects across the globe. Thurston is currently the regional managing director overseeing CH2M's European operations and will take up his new role in the spring (after handing over leadership duties [...]
James Bond’s Q is actually a woman in real life, it turns out January 26, 2017 Forget the row over whether James Bond can be played by a female actor like Gillian Anderson or not – in real life, the role of Q in Britain's top secret intelligence service is already a woman. The revelation was made by the head of MI6, Alex Younger, who also called on women to join the [...]
Barnet is the London borough with the biggest risk of burglary January 26, 2017 Barnet is the London borough where the risk of burglary is highest, according to new research. And the north London borough is also the area where residents pay the highest price for burglaries – at a whopping £7.6m per year overall. Approved Index calculated the cost of burglaries based on insurance costs, and by using the [...]
Deals from energy providers are rising as Britain’s cheapest rate has gone up £100 in six months January 26, 2017 The cheapest energy deal on the market has risen £100 – 14 per cent – in just six months, new data suggests. An analysis of the market showed the cheapest deal in July 2016 was Iresa's Flex 1 tariff, costing £734 per year. Now, the best deal is Iresa's Flex 4 tariff, which costs £834 per year, found [...]
Analysts react to Unilever’s drop in revenues January 26, 2017 Unilever's shares are set for their worst day of trading in the last five years, having fallen four per cent this morning. Investors are reacting to the food manufacturing giant's fourth-quarter and final year results, which missed expectations. Revenue fell one per cent for 2016, and Unilever also warned that it would be facing "tough market conditions" [...]
Shares in Diageo are up as the global drinks maker beats forecasts January 26, 2017 Diageo, the maker of Smirnoff, Guinness and Johnnie Walker, beat expectations for the six months ended 31 December after years of stagnant growth. The figures The drinks giant said reported net sales were up 14.5 per cent at £6.4bn, while operating profit rose 28 per cent at £2.1bn, reflecting organic growth and favourable exchange rates. Diageo experienced organic growth across all [...]