Heathrow expansion is taking off – now let’s inject some competition into aviation June 25, 2019 It is an airport running at full capacity – and has been for years. Now at last, with the parliamentary approval of a new runway and the release of competing development plans, Heathrow expansion is back on the menu, boys. One of the contenders to be the next Prime Minister, Jeremy Hunt, is a firm [...]
What happened to the pound, euro and US dollar in 2019? January 20, 2020 It has been a year of ups and downs for sterling, largely dominated by political and geopolitical factors. Investors’ concern over the outcome of Brexit largely overshadowed other factors. Despite celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019, it wasn’t a banner year for the euro. Over the last 20 years, the euro has strengthened by 27 [...]
UK recession fears ease as quarterly GDP growth beats Brexit concerns October 10, 2019 Fears of a Brexit-fuelled UK recession in the immediate future have eased, despite Britain’s economy shrinking 0.1 per cent in August. That is because Britain’s estimated GDP grew 0.3 per cent in the last three months, according to Office for National Statistics monthly data. Read more: New IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva says trade wars to [...]
‘In a dark place’: Kier shares plummet 40 per cent after embattled outsourcer gives £25m profit warning June 3, 2019 Kier Group shares have suffered a fresh blow this morning, dropping more than a third as the troubled outsourcer reels from its latest profit warning. The construction and services company, which is listed as one of the government’s top external suppliers of public services, shocked investors this morning with the news operating profit will be [...]
Ethereum 2.0 staking, a worthwhile investment? January 19, 2021 Background The Ethereum network today is overrun with traffic, causing transaction fees to spike to levels that are not affordable for many use cases. This is partially due to the success of DeFi projects, where users don’t mind paying the high transaction fees because of the financial value of the transactions being made. (In Ethereum, [...]
Space, the investment frontier: The companies that are reaching for the stars July 24, 2019 When Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon 50 years ago, space was the exclusive domain of two superpowers. Now it has become perhaps the ultimate competitive arena for two tech giants — not to mention a host of other private enterprises that see untold promise and profits in reaching for [...]
British Airways strikes: Pilots could call off action if BA considers pay offer September 5, 2019 British Airline pilots who are threatening to strike next week have said the industrial action could be averted if the airline considers a new pay offer it has put forward. Pilots who are members of the British Airline Pilots’ Association (Balpa) are due to strike on 9, 10 and 27 September but have said they [...]
Ollie Phillips: Argentina are a potential banana skin, but exactly the kind of test England need October 3, 2019 England are in good form and their World Cup has been wholly positive so far, but Saturday’s game against Argentina definitely represents a banana skin. Eddie Jones’s side have enjoyed plain sailing in Pool C, comfortably beating Tonga and the USA, and on paper the No10-ranked team should be no different. However, they haven’t been [...]
Interserve client Viridor mitigates against bigger hit on energy from waste plant March 25, 2019 Interserve client Viridor has increased the provision on its £72m claim against the firm, after delays and issues with the building of a Glasgow waste-to-energy plant. Viridor’s parent company Pennon today said after monitoring Interserve’s financial position in recent months, it had doubled the provision from £8m to £16m. The claim is against Interserve’s construction [...]
HS2 faces the scrap as Boris Johnson kicks off review August 21, 2019 The controversial HS2 high speed rail line could be scrapped after the government launched a review into the scheme following mounting concerns over its cost and deliverability. Transport secretary Grant Shapps officially kicked off the review into the high speed line, which will connect London to Birmingham from December 2026, and Birmingham to Manchester and [...]