Cooking up an idyllic holiday January 10, 2010 THERE’S no getting away from the fact that it takes a long time to get to the Cook Islands. Located between Samoa, Fiji and Tahiti, they are as remote as it gets. The flight from London is over 20 hours. However, they are a perfect stop-over to stretch your legs on the way to Australasia [...]
Bus firms facing investigation January 7, 2010 BRITAIN’S big five bus firms are facing a probe over concerns that limited competition is driving up fares. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is asking the Competition Commission to investigate the industry after finding that a distorted market was causing higher prices and poorer services. The probe is likely to hit firms such as [...]
Business as usual in City as Britain grinds to halt January 6, 2010 FREEZING weather, heavy snow and iced-up roads may have given many Londoners the perfect excuse to avoid work yesterday but thankfully the City of London continued to function as normal with the minimum of disruptions. Insurer RSA yesterday estimated that a single day of severe weather could cost the London economy more than £145m as [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW DID THE SNOW AFFECT CITY WORKERS YESTERDAY? January 6, 2010 DAVID WEATHERLEY | SMBC GROUP “About half of my office are working from home today. The company is well set up for it after the swine flu scare so we can stay productive even if a lot of people get stranded and can’t make it in. It isn’t anything to get worked up about – [...]
Worst snow in years to cause commuter chaos January 5, 2010 LONDON transport will be put to the test today as it strains to cope with some of the worst weather to hit the capital in years. The Met Office issued an emergency weather warning for the whole of the UK saying London and the Home Counties would be the worst affected. Forecasters predicted that more [...]
Is snow a fair reason for us to skip work? January 5, 2010 ZOE STRIMPEL YES IAM the first to roll my eyes at pathetic excuses for staying off work. “Oh, I sneezed, I think I should stay at home” or “oh, I hurt my leg, I better rest up.” Usually, these are cover-ups for things like hangovers from hell and just really, really wanting to stay in [...]
London must not be sacrificed in age of austerity January 3, 2010 As was recently reported, I am taking a hands-on approach to the Mayoralty – from basting the family Christmas Turkey down in the kitchens of Mansion House to defending the City’s interests against Nicholas Sarkozy’s plans for European domination, I am not afraid to get my hands dirty! That is why, if I were to [...]
Eurostar launches probe as limited services resume today December 21, 2009 EUROSTAR yesterday launched an independent investigation into the problems which forced it to cancel all train services for three days in a row. The review will be led by Christopher Garnett, former chief executive of GNER and the former commercial director of Eurotunnel, and Claude Gressier, the French inspector general of bridges and roads. Eurostar [...]
Service companies key to City’s business success December 20, 2009 In light of recent headlines it is hard to believe that London’s ongoing reputation as a world class financial centre depends on anything other than tax and regulation but I assure you it is true. One of the City’s traditional advantages, especially over emerging markets, is the quality of its local services – firms and [...]
NatEx brings in Tube boss December 16, 2009 TROUBLED train and bus operator National Express has taken on a new chief executive to steer its recovery. National Express, which has completed a controversial £360m cash call, said Dean Finch, the chief executive of London Underground contractor Tube Lines, will take up his post early next spring. National Express will hope Finch, who worked [...]