Billions wiped off FTSE oil giants BP and Shell after global oil prices sink March 9, 2020 Oil major BP has lost nearly £20bn of its value today as investors ditch energy stock following the oil price rout. Rival Royal Dutch Shell has seen its market capitalisation shrink £18.1bn since the close of trading in London on Friday. Both oil majors have dragged the FTSE 100 to one-day losses not seen since [...]
Influential Treasury Select Committee slams FCA culture but backs Bailey as next Bank governor March 5, 2020 Parliament’s influential Treasury Select Committee (TSC) today unanimously backed Andrew Bailey in his new role at the Bank of England, but took the opportunity to criticise failings in his post at the City’s watchdog. The TSC pointed to recent conduct issues such as the London Capital & Finance mini-bond and Woodfood investment scandals, which occurred under Bailey’s watch [...]
Swim with manta rays and dine on lobster curries at the Maldivian island resort of Vakkaru March 3, 2020 Any island resort staffer can say “welcome to paradise”, but when it comes from a seaplane pilot with no shoes on it feels more like a religious ritual than a tired cliche. It’s contagious, as the staff at Maldivian island resort Vakkaru can vouch for, guests – certainly me – ditch the formality and stress [...]
Coronavirus: British Airways and Ryanair cancel hundreds of flights as demand sinks March 2, 2020 Two of the UK’s leading airlines are cutting flights from their London hubs as coronavirus fears have led to a demand slump. British Airways will cancel more than 400 flights, while budget carrier Ryanair is cutting capacity to and from Italy. BA’s affected flights are between 16 and 28 March from Heathrow airport to cities [...]
Brexit: Boris Johnson set to reject regulatory alignment in EU trade negotiations February 2, 2020 Boris Johnson’s government has set out a tough opening stance ahead of trade talks with the European Union, indicating it will reject any trade deal that includes “high alignment” with the bloc. “We are taking back control of our laws, so we are not going to have high alignment with the EU, legislative alignment with [...]
Live the life of an international man (or woman) of mystery with The Caledonian’s Aston Martin driving experience December 20, 2019 Hilton’s high-end brand Waldorf Astoria and iconic British car maker Aston Martin have teamed up to combine Bond-esque driving experiences for those resting their heads at the five-star hotel, in the hope that those who like high thread counts also like high-octane thrills. From the gawking and tourist photographs of the Aston Martin Vantage parked [...]
Fighting fit: HR development Mind Gym profit more-than doubles December 10, 2019 Aim-listed HR development firm Mind Gym has posted a half year profit of £3.9m, up from £1.1m in the same six-month period to 30 September 2018. The company, which describes itself as “the global provider of human capital and business improvement solution” also saw revenue jump from £19.4m to £23.9m year-on-year. Half-year revenue was ahead [...]
General Election: New polling shows anything from huge Conservative majority to a hung parliament December 8, 2019 Four different polls released this weekend all show Boris Johnson’s Conservative party leading Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour party – but the chance of a hung parliament remains on a knife-edge. The polls give the Tories leads between eight and 15 points, just days out from the 12 December General Election. Even if the Conservatives lead Labour [...]
Ditch the train and test drive a Range Rover Sport on a long weekend at the Victoria Inn November 13, 2019 Some of Great Britain’s best spots are best explored without the disappointment often caused by the UK rail network. But what if you’re one of the thousands of car-less Londoners who yearn for a road-trip but shudder at the thought of queuing at an airport car hire kiosk for an hour just to be handed [...]
On the right track: We take the world’s slowest express train linking the plush ski resorts of Zermatt and St Moritz October 23, 2019 You could almost feel our compartment teeter over the edge of the crossing as the whole carriage readied cameras and phones to capture the iconic photograph. The Landwasser Viaduct on the Swiss rail network’s Glacier Express is the pièce de résistance of the journey between swish alpine resort towns of Zermatt and St Moritz. And [...]