Give it the green light: Helsinki wants eco ideas for its energy revolution March 19, 2020 By their nature, cities are in a unique position to develop solutions to global problems. Partnerships between cities, where we can draw from a diversity of approaches to common problems, provide valuable insights and that’s why Helsinki is today sharing with London our common experience of tackling climate change. Cities have a key role to [...]
DEBATE: Is there a case for the UK government bailing out airlines in the midst of the coronavirus crisis? March 19, 2020 Is there a case for the UK government bailing out airlines in the midst of the coronavirus crisis? YES, says Rob Burgess, editor of headforpoints.com, the UK’s biggest frequent flyer website. There are many reasons not to bail out companies — it is wrong to reward stupidity, bad management, corruption, or those who failed to [...]
TfL to shut 40 Tube stations as Londoners told ‘don’t travel’ over coronavirus March 19, 2020 As many as 40 Tube stations are set to close today as London attempts to curb the spread of coronavirus across the capital. Transport for London (TfL) announced the partial shutdown of the Tube late last night, warning passengers it will come into effect from this morning. “Up to 40 London Underground stations that do [...]
It’s time to self-isolate from social media’s armchair experts March 19, 2020 You can tell whether a news story is really, properly serious by the degree to which people develop instant expertise. Back in 2008, all sorts of people who didn’t know an asset from a debt suddenly started holding forth confidently about balance sheet liabilities and CDO-Squareds. A few years later, in the wake of the [...]
City Moves for 19 March – Who’s switching jobs at Finastra, Media Group and Achilles Therapeutic? March 19, 2020 Today’s City Moves includes Finastra, Media Group and Achilles Therapeutic Finastra Finastra has appointed Gary E Bischoping Jr as chief financial officer (CFO). Based at Finastra’s headquarters in London, Gary brings a wealth of technology experience, having recently held the role of CFO at Varian, a mid-cap medical technology US multinational. There, Gary revamped the [...]
The worst of times may just bring out the best in us March 19, 2020 From the Queen of Denmark to the mayor of Parsipanny, New Jersey, leaders around the world are reaching for a phrase that speaks to the challenge we face: we must come together by staying apart. Ireland’s Leo Varadkar deployed the same line in an excellent speech to his nation on Tuesday night. It captures perfectly [...]
Call for government to support oil and gas industry amid triple challenge March 19, 2020 The UK’s oil and gas industry has called on the government to help the sector as it faces three separate challenges, that could see production plummet. Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) highlighted coronavirus, gas prices being halved and the sinking oil price as threats to the industry. Boss Deirdre Michie highlighted the need for key [...]
IFS says ‘unfair’ council tax system needs urgent reform March 19, 2020 The current council tax regime is “arbitrary and unfair” and should be overhauled as a part of the government’s levelling up agenda, according to a leading economic think tank. A new report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has called on the government to update the way council tax is calculated to make it [...]
IAG boss Willie Walsh to take pay cut amid coronavirus strife March 18, 2020 British Airways owner IAG’s boss Willie Walsh, who earlier this week deferred his retirement to guide the airline group through the coronavirus crisis, has volunteered take a 20 per cent pay cut. Walsh’s decision, which was first reported by Sky News, makes him the latest in a series of prominent airline executives such as Virgin [...]
Coronavirus: Rishi Sunak leaves door open for ‘helicopter money’ strategies March 18, 2020 A wave of government cash handouts could be given to individuals and businesses if the scale of the economic downturn from coronavirus is worse than expected, according to Rishi Sunak. Sunak told the Treasury Select Committee he was “looking at every tool” to weather the economic storm and that “more macroeconomic, economy-wide solutions than targeted [...]
