On yer bike! Pedal your way to peak health September 9, 2013 AS the Prime Minister announces plans for a major cycling investment and a summer of BBQs and Stella has taken its toll, the question is, is cycling really the multiple box-ticker it’s made out to be? Cycling: The Perks ■ Numerous studies have found that you will get from A to B quicker cycling around [...]
MPs deliver new blow to HS2 plan September 8, 2013 HIGH Speed 2 (HS2) lacks a “convincing strategic case”, according to a damning report released today by MPs that questions the entire justification for the £50bn railway. Margaret Hodge MP, chairman of the public accounts committee, said the department for transport had relied on “fragile numbers, out-of-date data and assumptions which do not reflect real [...]
Atomic kitten: Nuclear boss claims cat taxi September 8, 2013 EXECUTIVES in charge of a £22bn nuclear decommissioning contract were yesterday criticised after their expenses claims came to light – showing they billed the taxpayer £714 to provide a taxi for a cat. The publicly-funded Nuclear Management Partners (NMP) consortium ran up hundreds of thousands of pounds in problematic claims at the Sellafield site in [...]
TSB opens doors as bank prepares Lloyds spin off September 8, 2013 THE NEW TSB Bank will open its doors to customers this morning, as the spin-off from Lloyds Banking Group unveils its rebranded high-street sites. When it is fully sold off from Lloyds, the 632 branches will represent a new competitor on the high street and has pledged to focus on local, traditional retail banking. Its [...]
Scrap the licence fee – and drag British TV into 21st century September 8, 2013 THERE is a simple solution to the scandal that is currently engulfing the BBC, centering around the size and scope of payoffs to former staff and the implication that public money was squandered. The answer is to reform the way the BBC is funded, and to allow it to spend its own money hiring and [...]
Final furlong for Royal Mail float September 8, 2013 MINISTERS are expected to set the timetable for the flotation of Royal Mail later this week despite last minute hurdles that could scupper the announcement. Business minister Michael Fallon is close to pressing the button on the £3bn float, which is expected to give each Royal Mail employee free shares worth about £2,000. However ongoing [...]
GSK drinks deal set to go ahead September 8, 2013 PHARMACEUTICALS firm GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is expected to announce as soon as today that it has struck a deal to sell its soft drinks Ribena and Lucozade to Japan’s Suntory Food and Beverage. The two firms are reported to have reached an agreement that would see the two brands sold to Suntory for £1.3bn. GSK announced [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 09 September 2013 September 8, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES Capital warning from bank reformer The chief architect of Britain’s post-crisis regulatory reforms believes banks’ capital levels should be double the level recommended two years ago by the government-appointed commission that he led. Sir John Vickers told the Financial Times that in a “blue-skies” world banks’ core tier one capital ratios would now [...]
PwC prepares for new normal as revenues rise September 8, 2013 ACCOUNTANCY giant PwC has said it is adjusting to a “new normal”, where the economy grows more slowly and the group faces the prospect of losing out on audit work. The Big Four company, which today posted a three per cent rise in revenues to £2.69bn for the year to the end of June, said [...]
George Osborne to say Britain’s burgeoning recovery proves austerity was the right policy September 8, 2013 THE CHANCELLOR will today argue that spending cuts were the right policy and have helped get the UK back on the right track. George Osborne faced criticism for his plan to reduce the budget deficit, and argues the latest economic figures vindicate his approach. “The pace of fiscal consolidation has not changed, government spending cuts [...]
