Hopes for Crossrail 2 get fresh lift as chief secretary to the Treasury Liz Truss gets £31bn rail project added to her brief July 12, 2017 Crossrail 2 hopes were given a boost after it emerged Treasury minister Liz Truss had been given responsibility for Crossrail 2 last week. Marking the first notable mention of Crossrail 2 by the government since the election, the rail project has appeared as part of Truss’ portfolio in her Treasury profile, since moving from her [...]
Electric shock – finding the winners and losers of the electric revolution October 11, 2017 The electric car – as a concept – is almost as old as the internal combustion engine (ICE). The first electric vehicle (EV) is credited, somewhat contentiously, to Scottish chemist Robert Anderson as far back as 1837. Thomas Edison is even rumoured to have explored a cheap electric car with Henry Ford as early as [...]
London’s Thames Tideway Tunnel super sewer is finally under construction April 18, 2017 Work on London’s ‘super sewer’ has finally begun, in an effort to stop the flow of waste into the Thames. Tideway workers have begun work on digging a hole with a 30m diameter, the same size as St Paul’s Cathedral’s dome, which marks the central point of a new 16-mile tunnel. The capital’s Victorian sewers [...]
Russia World Cup 2018: Clouds still hanging over Fifa and its tournament host with just over a year to go June 15, 2017 The Confederations Cup is normally a moment for football fans’ excitement to begin in earnest. Kicking off in Russia on Saturday, the competition marks a year until the country stages the next World Cup and offers a chance both for supporters to gauge the quality of potential contenders and for governing body Fifa to test [...]
Donald Trump is right about the UN – and the UK should follow him September 5, 2017 As Britain leaves the EU, is it time to re-examine our membership and funding of another international institution – the United Nations (UN)? Asking such a question will no doubt rile those who see the UN’s existence as inherently virtuous. A genuine forum for sovereign nation states to discuss international affairs and cooperate is a [...]
Output in the UK’s construction industry grew unexpectedly slowly in January February 2, 2017 The pound fell off its highs this morning after figures revealed output in the UK's construction industry had grown unexpectedly slowly in January – suggesting the sector's tentative recovery is swiftly running out of steam. Markit's purchasing managers' index for the construction industry dropped to 52.2 in January, from 54.2 in December and against expectations of 53.8. Any figure [...]
Trevor Steven: Safe standing can benefit everyone – it’s time to accept it in English football June 27, 2017 One of the most vivid memories from my playing days is of fans packed into the Gwladys Street end at Goodison Park so tightly that only their eyes and the tops of their heads were visible. I can remember similar scenes at Rangers and West Ham. Those atmospheres were electric. While I wouldn’t want to [...]
Everything Under Heaven: Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road could cement China as the world’s superpower October 19, 2017 “Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent,” wrote Mao Zedong in his little red book. With every crisis comes opportunity, he thought. The motto is as apt today as it was half a century ago. As an increasingly isolated America crawls from the world stage, the EU grapples with internal conflicts. [...]
Plans for £4bn restoration of parliament need further challenging and testing before green light is given, says Treasury Committee March 17, 2017 It would be "imprudent" for MPs to commit to the restoration of parliament that could cost up to £4bn, without more work being carried out into "the hugely expensive project", the Treasury Select Committee warned today. The Committee has launched an inquiry into the project which will cost between £3.5bn and £4bn, if carried out over [...]
Annual portfolio review pointers your adviser ought to embrace November 23, 2017 With the holiday season drawing near, the end of 2017 is close at hand. To many investors, this is a sign that it’s time to review portfolios and potentially rejig for the new year. From a professional’s perspective, this is welcome. It is refreshing to have investors engaged in discussing portfolio returns. But to make [...]