Fedex delivers on its pledge to lower its costs September 18, 2013 LOGISTICS giant FedEx posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on cost cuts yesterday and said it would raise rates next year for express shipping, a business that has suffered as customers shift to slower but cheaper delivery options. The company, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive volume of goods it moves around the world, [...]
Google founds a new company to battle age-related illnesses September 18, 2013 GOOGLE plans to set up a new company called Calico, headed by Apple and Genentech chairman Art Levinson, to develop technologies to tackle health issues related to aging. The new company will be run separately from Google, the world’s largest internet search company, with a focus on issues including life-threatening diseases and problems affecting mental [...]
One man’s graffiti is a fund manager’s art find September 18, 2013 CITY art fans may recall that earlier in the summer, a piece of street graffiti popped up outside the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt. One particularly striking black and white image showed ECB president Mario Draghi as James Bond in the film Casino Royale, posing with a glamourously-dressed Angela Merkel [...]
Boris makes beeline for rugby star at IoD dinner September 18, 2013 TO THE Royal Albert Hall yesterday, for the annual gathering of the Institute of Directors (IoD) with the likes of Virgin boss Richard Branson, chancellor George Osborne, shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna and mayor of London Boris Johnson. Morning speaker Boris entertained delegates by comparing the economy to the formerly capsized cruise ship Costa Concordia. [...]
Empire State Building to open its doors for investors this week September 18, 2013 THE FAMILY that controls the Empire State Building plans to kick off a formal roadshow to sell the iconic tower as early as this week by offering shares in a real estate investment trust (REIT), a person familiar with the matter said yesterday. The building and its investors are managed by Malkin Holdings, which is [...]
Unite to build student housing on its new car park in Wembley September 18, 2013 WEMBLEY is set to get more university housing, after Schroder Real Estate sold an acre plot of the north London site to student accommodation specialist Unite. The £7.4m site, currently a car park, will be the new home of a 684-room student block and 10,000 square feet of retail space, providing Unite and its Singaporean [...]
Builders hit out at bureaucratic house planning September 18, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Redrow dismissed debate that government mortgage schemes were fuelling a housing boom and said the UK’s “bureaucratic mess” of a planning system was the main cause of the housing shortage. The government has been criticised by economists and industry players for its launch of the Help to Buy scheme in March, the first part [...]
Palace Street block to be turned into apartments fit for a queen September 18, 2013 IT’S AN address that could soon be one of the most desirable in London: a listed building just across the road from Buckingham Palace. Property company Northacre yesterday pledged to turn the former offices for the Department for International Development into a luxury apartment block. DfiD has freed up the prime location at 1 Palace [...]
Funders need guarantees before they will invest in infrastructure September 18, 2013 BRITAIN is failing to build the infrastructure it requires because the government does not give enough clarity on what returns investors can expect, a new report will claim today. Private sector backers want to invest in new UK infrastructure but the government does not currently offer enough long-term assurances on the risks associated with individual [...]
The price of housing in Chinese cities soars up to 20pc in a year September 18, 2013 LONDON might be experiencing signs of a housing bubble, but the pace of property price growth is dwarfed by the boom in China, which yesterday said real estate prices were soaring by almost 20 per cent a year in the biggest cities. China’s new home prices rose at the fastest rate in at least two [...]
