Three immediate challenges to the new government are apparent July 13, 2016 Recently I sat next to the head of corporate lending at one of the big banks. The usual question of “how’s business” was inevitably asked, with the answer “just had six quarters of lending growth but the last two weeks… awful! Especially with infrastructure, we had so much in the pipeline but confidence is low”. [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open July 13, 2016 US stock markets are at a record high, Opec production is at its highest level in eight years, and China's trade surplus narrowed. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing up ahead of the open, though are not looking quite as rosy as in recent sessions. The S&P [...]
London mayor Sadiq Khan has secured a £15m windfall after licensing contactless ticketing technology July 13, 2016 London mayor Sadiq Khan has secured a £15m windfall after licencing the technology behind Transport for London's contactless ticketing system. TfL technology can now be used worldwide by Cubic Transportation Systems, which provides ticketing tools in Sydney, Brisbane, Vancouver and Chicago. London mayor Sadiq Khan said the cash from the licensing deal will go towards the delivery [...]
Political hiatus will only exacerbate uncertainty and send a negative message to investors, says president of the Institution of Civil Engineers Sir John Armitt July 13, 2016 The political hiatus currently engulfing the country will send a negative message to investors, president of the Institution of Civil Engineers Sir John Armitt has warned, as he said the government must reassert its commitment to infrastructure. Armitt, a former chief executive of Network Rail, said the EU referendum outcome has left a cloud of uncertainty [...]
Victoria Line part-suspended and Finsbury Park station closed after a woman was struck by a train July 12, 2016 Finsbury Park station has reopened, and the Victoria Line is running with minor delays, after a passenger was injured earlier this morning. The station was evacuated in the middle of the morning rush-hour today and the Victoria Line was suspended between Walthamstow and Kings Cross after a person was struck by a train Fire engines and a [...]
It’s high time Southern Rail got its act together July 12, 2016 Commuters on the troubled Southern rail franchise have had enough, and rightly so. The London and south-east England service has been beset by delays and cancellations caused by engineering works and industrial action. Yesterday, long-suffering commuters demonstrated in Victoria station during the evening rush-hour in protest at the lamentable service they’re forced to endure. The protest [...]
Airlines will spend around $5.2 trillion on 33,000 new planes over the next 20 years July 11, 2016 The world's airlines will spend over five trillion dollars on new aircraft over the next twenty years. Airbus has added 500 planes to its previous forecast, taking total demand over the next two decades to 33,070, with a price tag of a cool $5.2 trillion (£4 trillion). By 2035, the world’s aircraft fleet will have doubled [...]
Mayor Sadiq Khan sets out to tackle gender pay gap as study shows that men in City Hall earn more than women on average July 11, 2016 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on employers to close the pay gap for women, and today launched a plan to ensure full pay equality across the Greater London Authority and its functional bodies. A full gender pay audit of all City Hall's staff published today in accordance with a manifesto pledge showed that women employed [...]
Northern Powerhouse investment has been put at risk by the UK’s Brexit vote, according to a new report July 10, 2016 Government plans to build the Northern Powerhouse will be left on the brink of failure without boosted efforts to attract foreign investment, according to a new report. Chancellor George Osborne has been seeking to bridge the economic gap between London and the North since June 2014 when he announced the powerhouse agenda. However, according to [...]
Focus On Croydon: Concrete jungle of Zone Five is increasingly popular with young professionals July 8, 2016 It’s a concrete jungle out there. At least, it is if you live in the London borough of Croydon. Despite birthing Kate Moss, Sir Philip Green and Tracey Emin, it’s not an area that’s known for glamour, largely due to a preponderance of outdated 1960s office blocks. Though there have been many attempts to revive [...]