PM condemns firemen Bonfire Night strike plan October 26, 2010 LONDON’S 5,600 firefighters have been heavily criticised for their plans to walk out on strike on Bonfire Night next Friday. Fire Brigades Union (FBU) members are set to stage a 47 hour strike from 5 to 7 November unless the London Fire Brigade (LFB) withdraws what the union has described as a “sacking letter” sent [...]
Health, schools and security keep UK down October 26, 2010 THERE is a simple reason why the UK has not performed better in the 2010 Legatum Prosperity Index published yesterday, failing to break into the top ten countries. To do better, the UK must continue to improve not just its economy, but also its performance on health, education and security. The Legatum index is unique, [...]
Go-Ahead in bullish mood as defies cuts October 26, 2010 TRANSPORT group Go-Ahead reported a good performance in rail despite economic woes and indicated fare hikes and cost cuts should protect it from public spending reductions. Go-Ahead, which runs the Southeastern, Southern and London Midland rail franchises and buses in the UK, said train passengers and revenue increased despite the tough economy between July and [...]
UK 13th in Prosperity Index October 26, 2010 THE UK finished a miserable 13th in the latest Prosperity Index, trailing behind even beleaguered Iceland and Ireland. The Legatum Institute table was dominated by Scandinavian countries, with Norway, Denmark and Finland taking the top three slots. Sweden finished sixth in the poll, which measures wealth and prosperity, taking into account factors including health care, [...]
Air travel picks up but cargo growth slips October 26, 2010 THE recovery in the global air travel market gathered pace last month, but falling freight has sparked concern about the impact on the economic recovery of spending cuts. Passenger numbers rose 10.5 per cent year-on-year in September, significantly stronger than the 6.5 per cent increase in August, according to figures from the International Air Transport [...]
CBI urges Osborne to focus on growth October 26, 2010 BUSINESS lobby group the CBI has written to chancellor George Osborne and business secretary Vince Cable to call for further action to stimulate short term economic growth, in order to offset the effects of the government’s £80bn spending cuts. CBI director-general Richard Lambert said the UK economy needs a “fundamental rebalancing” in order to achieve [...]
US recovery still fragile as house prices fall again October 26, 2010 THE US economic recovery is still fragile, according to data published yesterday, which showed house prices fell for the second consecutive month and consumer confidence remained weak. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P)/Case Shiller index of US 20 cities showed property prices fell 0.3 per cent in August. The dip followed a decline of 0.2 per [...]
Ireland doubles its budget target to €15bn as outlines push for austerity October 26, 2010 THE Irish government has doubled the amount of money it reckons is needed to bring the country’s deficit under control to €15bn (£13.1bn) over the next four years. That is twice the level outlined in last year’s budget. “The key reasons for the significant increase from the figure announced in the 2010 budget are lower [...]
David Frost stands down as head of BCC October 26, 2010 DAVID Frost, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), announced yesterday that he intends step down in 2011, after eight years in the role. Frost said he was leaving the BCC in better shape that he had found it saying he was brought in to raise the organisation’s profile and level of influence, [...]
TNK-BP profit down as Rosneft prospers October 26, 2010 Russian oil company TNK-BP, a joint venture that makes up more than a quarter of BP’s reserves, said yesterday its third-quarter net profit fell as transportation and other costs rose. The company generated net profit of $1.45bn (£913m) on revenues of $11.4bn. A year earlier TNK-BP earned $1.68bn on revenues of $10.26bn. Meanwhile, its largest [...]
