Boris Johnson taps business for 4.1bn of Crossrail funds July 30, 2009 MAYOR Boris Johnson yesterday outlined details of his plans to tap London firms to fund the Crossrail scheme, under which around half of the total tax revenue will be met by businesses on the City, Canary Wharf and Westminster patch. The plans state that from April 2010, an initial levy of 2p in the pound [...]
Commuter chaos in the City as RMT takes industrial action over salaries July 29, 2009 THOUSANDS of London commuters face travel chaos today and tomorrow, as workers on the National Express East Anglia franchise go on strike for 48 hours over pay. Services to Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex will be affected and the action will disrupt many lines in and out of London, including trains for Stansted Airport, Southend [...]
Third runway is worth 1bn a year to UK July 13, 2009 THE UK’s economy is set to lose between £900m and £1.1bn every year the third runway at Heathrow is delayed, according to a report from the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said yesterday. The controversial expansion, which was given the go-ahead by the then transport secretary Geoff Hoon in January, could be worth up to [...]
Battle of Canary Wharf and City is unimportant July 12, 2009 THIS newspaper can justifiably claim to have “scooped” the news of Nomura’s plan to base its European HQ in the Square Mile – confirmed last week but trailed, I believe, in City A.M sometime before Christmas. Many commentators have characterised the news that Nomura will take up residence in Lower Thames Street as a “victory” for [...]
Strike threat as tube staff are balloted July 7, 2009 THOUSANDS of London commuters face further disruption this summer, as 600 staff at London Underground (LU) prepare to be balloted on industrial action, after union leaders rejected a final pay offer. Unite union said LU’s offer of 1.5 per cent in the first year and retail prices index (RPI) plus 0.5 per cent in the [...]
New property group to float July 6, 2009 Paul Pedley, the former chief executive of Redrow, yesterday announced plans to raise £50m to buy new-build flats in London from distressed developers. The new investment company, London Residential Opportunities, aims to be listed on the London Stock Exchange in September. Steven Norris, the former Tory transport minister, will sit on the board of Callidus [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 6, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMES SUN VALLEY SET TO CONSIDER PAID CONTENTA debate over paid content that has riven the newspaper business and spread across the rest of the media sector is expected to frame discussions at the annual confab of media and technology power brokers and entrepreneurs in Sun Valley this week. The US recession has forced [...]
7/7 MEMORIAL UNVEILED July 6, 2009 PRINCE Charles will today officially unveil the Hyde Park monument to the victims of the 7/7 bombings of four years ago. The £1m memorial consists of 52 three-metre tall stainless steel pillars, in memory of each of the victims who died when terrorists detonated four explosive devices on public transport in London. A plaque naming [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 5, 2009 THE SUNDAYSThe Sunday TelegraphPRU ENSURES CHANGES TO CAZENOVE RESEARCHJP Morgan Cazenove has rewritten a piece of research about Prudential that initially made a string of adverse comments about the insurer’s accounting procedures. The research note is understood to have made disparaging remarks about reporting decisions taken by Tidjane Thiam, set to take over as chief [...]
Nat Exp east coast to be nationalised July 1, 2009 THE loss-making east coast rail line is set to be renationalised after National Express, which currently operates the franchise, failed to renegotiate its funding contract with the Department for Transport (DfT). National Express currently runs services on the line between London and Edinburgh. But the firm is walking away from the line after it failed [...]