Shoppers desert UK high streets January 20, 2013 BRITISH shops were abandoned in the run up to Christmas, new figures showed today, with hard-pressed consumers increasingly staying away from the high street, out of town retailers and shopping centres. Online sales soared upwards to account for over 10 per cent of total sales, leaving traditional shops to bear the brunt of the country’s [...]
Commuters battle against snow as airports forced to cancel flights January 20, 2013 COMMUTERS and holidaymakers were expecting further travel disruption today as snow settled across London and the home counties, with Heathrow airport cancelling one in 10 flights and train operators changing timetables in anticipation of delays. Despite the Met Office dropping its amber weather warning for London and the south east over the weekend, temperatures overnight [...]
From Britain’s triple-dip to a three-speed global economy January 20, 2013 BUSES come in twos – when there is no snow involved, that is – but economics in 2013 seems to be all about threes. Britain is dangerously close to being in a triple-dip recession – and partly as a result we are now seeing a three-speed world economy. We will know on Friday whether UK [...]
What the other papers say this morning January 20, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES AllianzGI to launch UK building fund Allianz Global Investors is to launch a pioneering infrastructure debt fund in the UK – the first of its kind – to help build schools, hospitals and roads in a landmark initiative designed to create jobs and stimulate the faltering economy. Tax crackdown to target middle class [...]
Merkel faces challenge from FDP January 20, 2013 Angela Merkel’s conservatives appeared to be struggling to hold onto power in a German state election yesterday against a centre-left opposition showing it could yet mount a strong challenge to her chancellorship in September national polls. In exit polls released after voting ended, Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) remained the biggest party but their Free Democrat [...]
Dreamliner probe is widened January 20, 2013 The US National Transportation Safety Board yesterday ruled out excess voltage as the cause of a battery fire last month on a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet operated by Japan Airlines Co (JAL) and widened its investigation to include the Arizona-based manufacturer of the battery’s charger. Last week, governments across the world grounded the Dreamliner [...]
Nokia Siemens plans fundraising January 20, 2013 Nokia Siemens Networks is planning to raise as much as €700m from public markets in the spring to pay down debt and fund investment, the Financial Times said on its website yesterday, citing people familiar with the plan. The high-yield bond will be the first time the Nokia and Siemens joint venture has tapped public [...]
Jobs bloodbath as red tape hits banks’ growth January 20, 2013 THE FINANCIAL services industry shed 25,000 jobs in the final three months of 2012 and will lose another 18,000 in the first quarter of this year, the Confederation of British Industry and PwC warn today, as regulation weighs firms down and weak markets keep their costs under pressure. The only real growth area in bank [...]
Obama sworn in at White House ceremony ahead of speech today January 20, 2013 PRESIDENT Barack Obama took the official oath for his second term yesterday at the White House in a small, private ceremony, ahead of a more public event this afternoon. Gathered with his family in the Blue Room on the White House’s ceremonial main floor, Obama put his hand on a family Bible and recited the [...]
Megaupload’s Kim Dotcom opens new site January 20, 2013 KIM DOTCOM, the entrepreneur behind file-sharing website Megaupload, has launched a new hosting service, defying US prosecutors who closed down his business 12 months ago. German-born Dotcom, who is living in New Zealand and fighting extradition to the US, unveiled the new website, Mega, from his mansion on Saturday. He promised that Mega is legal, [...]
