FTSE posts big rise as US and China manufacturing data ease concerns April 2, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index posted its biggest daily rise in two months yesterday, up nearly two per cent as manufacturing data from the world’s biggest economies eased concerns over sluggish growth, offsetting uncertainty in Europe. Rising shares of mining companies also helped. London’s blue chip index climbed 106.44 points, or 1.9 per cent to 5,874.89. [...]
Fuel drivers set for talks to halt strike April 1, 2012 TRADE unionists and fuel haulage firms are due to meet this week in a bid to avoid a strike. The Unite union has said it will take part in talks with dispute resolution group Acas and the seven tanker companies, where more than 2,000 drivers have voted in favour of industrial action. However, thousands of [...]
Boris warns of fuel strike emergency March 29, 2012 BORIS Johnson has warned the government is not taking the escalating fuel crisis seriously enough, City A.M. has learned, and has instructed London officials to start planning for an emergency. In a letter to communities secretary Eric Pickles, seen by City A.M., the Mayor of London said the UK was facing a “potential fuel emergency” [...]
Rail firms line up to take on UK franchises March 29, 2012 THIRTEEN companies are vying to take on more rail routes in the UK, the Department for Transport revealed yesterday. Rail minister Theresa Villiers welcomed the “strong interest” in the three franchises up for grabs – the Great Western line between Penzance and Paddington, the Essex Thameside route and London’s Thameslink services. This is part of [...]
Ken promises to freeze the congestion charge March 29, 2012 KEN Livingstone yesterday launched his transport manifesto with a pledge to keep the congestion charge at £10 for the next four years. The Labour mayoral candidate also confirmed that he would not reintroduce the charge’s controversial western extension zone, even though he thinks Boris Johnson was wrong to scrap it. Promising a “better deal for [...]
AROUND TOWN March 29, 2012 ■ Theatrewise, the Barbican is on fire. Currently running is a hugely acclaimed production of Mikhael Bulgakov’s classic Soviet satire, The Master and Margarita, staged by Simon McBurney’s award-winning company Complicite. By turns violent, poetic and surreal, this is a corker of a show. Be sure to book, too, for the Sydney Theatre’s production of [...]
Mining gains offset retail weakness March 29, 2012 The FTSE was broadly flat in early trading with a bounce back in the mining sector helping to offset weaknesses among blue chip retailers like Marks & Spencer. Official figures which yesterday saw the UK’s GDP figures revised down have hit investor sentiment while energy stocks are coming under pressure from volatile oil prices. But [...]
Unite scored an own goal with the tanker strike – but so has Cameron March 28, 2012 LEN McCluskey, general secretary of the Unite trade union, positions himself as an arch-enemy of the government. Of the Bob Crow school of diplomacy, McCluskey remains convinced civil disobedience is necessary to halt the coalition’s deficit reduction programme. And he seems hell-bent on ruining the Olympic Games with mass industrial action. Now might seem a [...]
Dow Chemical sets infrastructure gold in its sights as a top sponsor March 27, 2012 COUNTDOWN TO THE LONDON 2012 OLYMPIC GAMES 121 DAYS TO GO Q What was your brand’s primary reason for being involved with the Games? A Dow became the official chemistry company to the Games and a worldwide sponsor in July 2010, when it announced its partnership with the IOC. That runs through 2020. Dow has [...]
Boris pledges to get rid of Tube drivers March 26, 2012 BORIS Johnson has announced an all-out push towards automation of the Tube network, pledging that he will never again buy a Tube train that requires a driver. “It is time for London to learn from other metro networks and get the benefits of automatic train control. It is time to move forward with ‘train captains’ [...]