Dagger in the Kremlin’s heart: Europe’s sanctions have revived a comatose West July 30, 2014 “We live between the act of awakening and the act of surrender.” John O’Donohue, Irish poet MY GOD, they’ve finally done something. In the end, it wasn’t the horrific shooting down of MH17 – highly likely by Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine – that goaded a seemingly inert Europe into decisive action. Even after this [...]
Caliphate in the UK: From Hampshire to the city September 16, 2014 A few months ago, the word "caliphate" suddenly appeared in headlines in every newspaper, signalling the beginning of the sinister rise of Islamic State (IS), the group currently wreaking terror in the Middle East. But IS isn't the only caliphate – there are similar groups all over the world. Although it's safe to say the [...]
Great Portland seals record rents as demand in West End heats up May 21, 2014 WEST End landlord Great Portland Estates posted a 27.6 per cent rise in net asset value (NAV) last year as the heart of the capital continues to experience hot demand and short supply of new office space. Great Portland, whose schemes include its 200,000 square feet Hanover Square site above Bond Street’s Crossrail station, said [...]
Stagecoach meets expectations as confidence in buses grows June 25, 2014 Stagecoach has announced financial results in line with the company's expectations for the year ended 30 April. Profit before taxation was in line with analysts’ forecasts of £180m. The FTSE 250 company's performance in the UK was was boosted by new contract wins in London and solid cost control. North American business has been booming, [...]
George Osborne’s HS3 high speed rail link criticised as vanity project June 23, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne’s plan for a High Speed 3 rail link between Manchester and Leeds in the north of the country has been dubbed a “costly vanity project” by a leading economic think tank. The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) yesterday accused the chancellor of “concocting” a headline-grabbing plan ahead of the election in 2015, [...]
Virgin triumphs in West Coast rail bid June 19, 2014 Virgin has been successful in its attempt to continue operating the West Coast Main Line. The government said Virgin had pledged to raise capacity and that the contract was for a further two years and nine months. The deal is expected to bring £35m of passenger benefits including an extra 5,500 standard-class seats every day. [...]
Operations chief on track for top job at bookmaker William Hill June 9, 2014 WILLIAM Hill is poised to name operations director James Henderson as its new chief executive, replacing departing boss Ralph Topping. Topping is due to step down from his role at the FTSE 100-listed bookmaker by the end of next year, but is said to be happy to leave sooner once a successor has been chosen. [...]
London Report: FTSE falls from highs on global growth jitters July 7, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index retreated from a three-week high yesterday on concerns about the pace of global economic growth, with cyclical sectors such as miners and banks worst hit. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.6 per cent lower at 6,823.51 points after climbing to its highest since early June in the previous session. The [...]
Lampard ends Chelsea career and is labelled all-time great June 2, 2014 CHELSEA have hailed all-time top goalscorer Frank Lampard as one of the all-time great midfielders after the 35-year-old announced he had played his last game for the club. England’s vice-captain at this summer’s World Cup scored 211 goals in 648 appearances, but his contract is set to expire on 30 June and will not be [...]
City handed tough start to Premier League title defence June 18, 2014 CHAMPIONS Manchester City have been handed a tricky start to the 2014-15 Premier League season with head-to-heads against the rest of last season’s top four in their first five games. After travelling to Newcastle when the campaign kicks off on 16 August, City then host last season’s runners-up Liverpool in their opening game at the [...]