TfL minds the funds gap June 21, 2009 TRANSPORT for London has narrowed the tube funding gap by £2.5bn with a massive cost cutting drive. The new budget plan for three quarters of the tube network includes deferring upgrades, axing 1,000 jobs and rewriting engineering contracts. Under the plan, set to be announced on Wednesday, £800m will be saved by postponing work on [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 21, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphBA CHIEF SNUBS SELECT COMMITTEEWillie Walsh, chief executive of British Airways, has refused to go before the House of Commons transport committee to give evidence on the future of aviation. The hearing, os scheduled for Wednesday next week – coincidentally the first day of the month that Walsh will work without pay [...]
Boris plans RMT talks June 17, 2009 TALKS between warring London Underground (LU) and the Rail and Maritime (RMT) union will resume tomorrow, London mayor Boris Johnson said yesterday, as fears of further tube strikes grow in the capital. Discussions between the two parties collapsed last week, leading to a 48 hour strike London’s 3.5m commuters, and a slanging match between both [...]
Recovery hopes are pushing smart traders towards metals contracts June 17, 2009 BELOW me, dozens of men in dark suits are standing in a ring, yelling at each other and making special hand signals. Around the ring clerks are sitting, often with a telephone held to each ear and giving a running commentary down the line on the events unfolding in front of them. In the cacophony [...]
If you want a good quality of life, Helsinki’s your city June 16, 2009 YESZOE STRIMPEL THAT London hasn’t made it into the top 50 places to live in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s liveability survey doesn’t surprise me. These types of lists are compiled using utterly colourless criteria that bear little relation to what makes life worth living. Admittedly, Helsinki, Vienna and Zurich (all in the top 10) are [...]
Electric Shock June 16, 2009 CAN you imagine plugging your car into a three-pin plug in the wall, leaving it for eight hours and then driving for up to 70 miles on that single charge? Well, that is what the Smart Fortwo electric drive will do for you, from a flat battery to full charge. I drove this and two [...]
Scramble for talent among smaller firms June 14, 2009 SMALLER City financial firms are frantically headhunting top-tier staff who have become casualties of cost-saving job cuts at giants like Credit Suisse, HSBC and Dresdner Kleinwort. Firms such as Arbuthnot Securities, Blue Oar and Panmure Gordon are scrambling to emerge from the recession with higher profiles by grabbing seasoned talent on lower salaries than ever, [...]
WORST CITY FIRMS TO JOIN ROLL OF HONOUR June 14, 2009 FANCY awards dinners have a reputation for being duller than dishwater, so it’s refreshing to hear of an upcoming ceremony that aims to break the mould. That’s right: the Sharecrazy Worst Company of the Year awards are back by popular demand, having gone down a treat with frazzled City folk last time around at a [...]
Tube strikes are a blot on our global reputation June 14, 2009 MY HEART sank when the International Herald Tribune splashed a large photograph of London commuters struggling to get to work on its front cover. Although the article rightly complimented Londoners on their determination to keep businesses going in the face of crippling tube strikes, it made me angry. This is not the image of London [...]
City braced for further disruption June 10, 2009 LONDON is set for another round of travel chaos today, as London Underground (LU) and the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union refused to budge on a dispute over pay. LU said last night they were “almost waiting at the table” for RMT to enter talks, while the union said it was the employer who [...]