New Zealand and Australia kick off 2023 December 31, 2022 New Zealand and Australia have stepped into the new year with fireworks, sparklers and street parties. The Pacific countries are thirteen and eleven hours ahead of GMT and have switched calendars well ahead of residents in Britain. Over a million people gathered to watch the first big firework show to bring in 2023 at Sydney’s [...]
Best of 2022: Australia ready for green and gold decade of sport December 26, 2022 Australia is on course to be a major sporting player over the next decade. City A.M. took a look at why that is and what’s at stake politically for the country. Article originally published 15 August 2022. The sun-kissed nation of Australia is about to embark on a decade-long installation as the centre for world [...]
The special relationship with the US is fertile ground for investment into the UK December 12, 2022 Last week, a new bilateral energy deal between the UK and the US, to reduce global dependence on Russian gas, underlined the continuing strength of the “special relationship”. In a joint statement, Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden stressed the need for “allied countries to deepen their cooperation to ensure resilient international systems which reflect our [...]
A new coal mine in Cumbria won’t save the burning problems for the UK December 9, 2022 After years of political ping-ponging, the decision has been made: we’ll have the first new coal mine in thirty years in the UK. It will be located in Whitehaven, in Cumbria, and it’s meant to bring 500 direct jobs to an impoverished area that has often felt forgotten by central government. The indirect jobs in [...]
Rachel Reeves: Macron is ‘eating UK’s lunch’ when it comes to global investment December 7, 2022 French President Emmanuel Macron is “eating the UK’s lunch” when it comes to attracting global investment, shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has said. Reeves today told City A.M. that France was stealing investment away from British start-ups post-Brexit, with the shadow chancellor promising to help pension funds unleash billions of pounds of long-term capital into the [...]
TfL to invest £8.1bn into London’s road and rail network December 1, 2022 TfL is set to invest £8.1bn into London’s road and rail network as part of its long-term business plan. Set to support London’s economic recovery whilst achieving financial sustainability, the draft plan includes an annual £150m expenditure in safe and active travel, as well as a £110m scrappage scheme. The scrappage scheme will help offset [...]
UK to buy out China General Nuclear’s share of Sizewell C nuclear plant November 29, 2022 The UK government will pay £100m to a Chinese state-owned firm to buy out their share in the Sizewell C nuclear plant. The taxpayer buyout of China General Nuclear’s (CGN) 20 per cent share will mean the UK government and French state-owned EDF will take a 50-50 equity split for the Suffolk nuclear plant. It will [...]
Rishi Sunak calls for more ‘diplomacy and engagement’ with China November 28, 2022 Rishi Sunak has said the UK needs to “evolve its approach” toward China as he signals closer “diplomacy and engagement” with the burgeoning super power. The Prime Minister told the Lord Mayor’s banquet at Guildhall tonight that the “golden era” of UK-China relations pushed by David Cameron “is over”, but that the UK must not [...]
Stabilising the economy depends upon ensuring new start ups stay in our shores November 28, 2022 Tonight I will welcome the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and guests from across the City – and beyond – to Guildhall for the annual Lord Mayor’s Banquet. While the worst of the pandemic is behind us, we are facing the bleakest economic outlook that we [...]
City job losses loom amid government tax grab and recession November 22, 2022 Square Mile banks, brokers and insurers will shed jobs to alleviate pressure on their balance sheets from the government hiking taxes, the new Lord Mayor of the City of London has warned. Nicholas Lyons, the freshly minted 694th Mayor of the City, told Bloomberg today he expected “there will be some job losses” after chancellor [...]