To nest or invest is the crucial decision buyers must make September 9, 2012 FOR most, buying a property is likely to be the most expensive purchase that they will ever make. As such, one of the key decisions that buyers face is where to buy their property. The average price of a London property currently stands at £302,000, according to Nationwide. But the performance of house prices have [...]
Puglia takes on the family challenge September 9, 2012 IT’S ONE of those dilemmas that make you bone-deep thankful to be born in the twenty-first century, austerity notwithstanding. Two hundred years ago my ancestors faced problems like: “Will I be transported to a hellish penal colony if I steal that pie to feed my children?”. One hundred years ago: “Those Germans are looking feisty, [...]
UK rail franchise Southern hits Go-Ahead’s full-year profits September 6, 2012 UK TRANSPORT group Go-Ahead yesterday posted a drop in full-year profit, as its rail businesses felt the heat. Full-year profit for the year to 30 June came in at £94.2m, down from £97.6m the year previously, despite a rise in revenue to £2.4bn, an increase of 5.5 per cent from last year. Over the year, [...]
Boris threatens election over third runway… September 5, 2012 BORIS Johnson yesterday refused to rule out standing in a parliamentary by-election if the government backs a third runway at Heathrow. Asked whether he was willing to campaign on the issue within the House of Commons, the Mayor told the BBC: “My job is to follow the interests of the people of London.” His comments came [...]
City Views | What do you think of the reshuffle? September 5, 2012 MATTHEW ARGENT JEFFERSON YOUNG Based on public opinion and not necessarily his record I was surprised Osborne kept his job. A fresh face in the higher ranks of the government would have been good. But I would still have him over Ed Balls any day. DJAMOL ARIPOV LONDON BRAND MANAGEMENT I’m surprised about the government [...]
As the coalition debates whether to expand airport capacity, which is the best option? September 5, 2012 HEATHROW Tim Yeo Britain needs the third Heathrow runway because Boris Island is too expensive, too late and in the wrong place. Building Boris Island requires billions of taxpayers’ money. Expanding Heathrow does not require a penny. No aircraft could take off from Boris Island before 2030. The third runway could be operating in 2020 [...]
Coalition 2.0 September 4, 2012 PM reshuffles cabinet but no shift in key policies Change at Transport, NHS, Culture and Justice Boris attacks Cameron over Heathrow expansion DAVID Cameron last night put the finishing touches to his first ministerial reshuffle, with sweeping changes to the lower ranks but with most top cabinet members remaining in place. Despite changing dozens of positions [...]
An underwhelming reshuffle which did not go far enough September 4, 2012 COALITION 2.0: that is our front page headline today, and it sums up what this reshuffle is all about. This was an incremental, almost minor reshuffle, not the revolutionary shift that this government really needed, with most of the most important, cabinet-level jobs still controlled by the same people and economic policy changing not one [...]
Cameron’s cabinet reshuffle is taking shape September 4, 2012 YESTERDAY’S reshuffle left the great offices of state untouched but the changes David Cameron made to his cabinet provide an insight into the Prime Minister’s plans for the second half of this government. He has turned to trusted allies, with aides saying the focus is on ensuring government policies pass into legislation within the timeframe of [...]
Incentives matter: Motivating staff is a necessity not a luxury September 2, 2012 THE villa, or riad, that I rented with friends and family in Morocco was luxurious and expensive. Beautifully decorated with a lovely garden. It came with staff, including a young guy, Yassim, whose job was to take care of our needs. It was a perfect holiday – except for him. Eventually I decided we needed [...]