West End poised for £2.5bn boost from Crossrail October 5, 2015 THE ARRIVAL of Crossrail is set to bring a £2.45bn boost to the West End by 2020 as thousands more visitors pour into central London, new research shows. The New West End Company (NWEC), which represents 600 businesses, said annual turnover for its retailers is predicted to hit £11.25bn just two years after completion of [...]
Putin will fail in Syria: The West must take a step back October 4, 2015 I feel as if we are in a time warp. To read right-wing commentators over the past few days, you would think the Cold War is back on – only this time we are losing. To hear them talk, we are living in a new age of Russian power. A triumphant Russia is calling the [...]
Liverpool dismiss Brendan Rodgers as Dick Advocaat quits Sunderland October 4, 2015 Former Borussia Dortmund manager Jurgen Klopp and ex-Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti last night emerged as favourites for the Liverpool job after Anfield chiefs sacked Brendan Rodgers. Rodgers’ departure was announced just hours after the Reds drew 1-1 at Merseyside rivals Everton and on a tumultuous day that also saw Dick Advocaat quit Sunderland but [...]
London house prices: The capital’s most exclusive homes are going for bargain prices October 2, 2015 Another day, another sign the top end of London's property market is in the doldrums, after figures by Knight Frank showed house prices in the capital's most exclusive areas grew just 1.3 per cent in September on the same month last year. That's the lowest rate of growth since October 2009 – and in some [...]
Make 10-year Chinese visas cheaper default option and bring £337m to UK economy, claims UKCVA October 2, 2015 Leading retailers have renewed their pleas for the government to overhaul its system regarding Chinese visas, claiming a simplified regime would boost the UK's economy by £337m. The UK China Visa Alliance (UKCVA) – which is made up of businesses such as retail park group McArthurGlen, retail body New West End Company, Walpole, London [...]
Crossrail 2: It’s not just your commute that will improve with the Hertfordshire to Surrey transport link October 1, 2015 As anyone who travels through Clapham Junction or Waterloo today will already know, much of the rail network is already operating at the limits of its capacity. Huge improvements are planned and being made – the modernisation of the Tube and the building of Crossrail for example. But they will only ease the crowding [...]
Crossrail 2 could add £100bn to the UK economy September 28, 2015 The second leg of Crossrail could add billions of pounds to the UK economy and bring thousands of new jobs and homes to London and the south east, a new report claims. The benefits of Crossrail 2, which will run through London, Surrey and Hertfordshire could be as high as £102bn, according to new estimates [...]
CoolBrands 2015: Apple crowned the king of cool as Google slips September 27, 2015 Apple has retained pole position for the fourth year in a row in a ranking of companies' brand appeal, according to pollsters CoolBrands. Its tech rival Google, however, dropped out of the top 10 altogether, slipping to 12th from sixth in 2014. Despite an improving economy, luxury brands did not manage to maintain [...]
The West’s failed Syria policy: Why it’s time to do nothing September 27, 2015 When I worked in Washington, perhaps the dreariest job of all was covering congressional hearings. It is a task that only the interns end up doing, and then under protest. In fact, in my office, we literally drew straws for the ordeal, with the short straw having to spend a numbing eight hours or so [...]
The future’s bright, the future’s lighting: How new technology is brightening up our cities September 24, 2015 New lighting technologies are transforming the way our cities look at night. Alex Dymoke considers what’s in store. II was astonished,” wrote the German diarist Karl Philipp Moritz in 1782, “at the admirable manner in which the streets are lighted up, compared to which our streets in Berlin make a most miserable show.” His [...]