PM is shunted off track by Branson win October 3, 2012 THE COALITION’S rail policies have been left in disarray by the collapse of the West Coast handover, after “terrible mistakes” in the bidding process were uncovered. Department for Transport officials met with erstwhile winning bidder FirstGroup and current operator Virgin Trains yesterday to make peace and ensure the intercity rail route continues to run after [...]
Now you can be your own Lord Grantham November 29, 2012 YES, “DOWNTON Abbey” has ended, and unless Julian Fellowes has one last trick up his sleeve, all that remains are memories and DVD box sets. But for anyone seeking to live out his or her fantasies of being a Crawley, all hope is not lost. Gothic Victorian architecture, the style of Highclere Castle, is a [...]
Sign of the changing times at LME’s annual traders’ dinner October 22, 2012 TO the London Metal Exchange, where last week the historic British institution welcomed its new owner – Charles Li of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) – to its annual dinner. At a glamorous affair at the Grosvenor Hotel, packed to the rafters with around 2,000 traders, Li rather stole the limelight from guest speaker [...]
America’s energy renaissance will transform China as well November 12, 2012 SOMETHING extraordinary is happening to the global economy, with huge implications for geopolitics and international flows of trade and capital. The United States has engineered an energy renaissance: while it currently imports 20 per cent of its total energy consumption, much of it from the Middle East, America will become roughly self-sufficient in net terms [...]
Dedicated Federer of fashion February 27, 2013 THERE IS a problem. It is 8am in Dubai and a freak storm has descended over the improbable desert city. Where there should – statistically, at least – be clear, azure skies, there is a mulch of saggy grey cloud. This is a problem because I was supposed to be boarding a helicopter to Roger [...]
The best of the fest: must see flicks this weekend at the 56th Annual BFI London Film Festival October 18, 2012 THE 56th Annual BFI London Film Festival was has been a showcase for some of the world’s hottest young directors, as well as some more established personalities such as Tim Burton, whose Frankenweenie, reviewed above, opened the event. The festival is bigger than ever this year, with new venues being added in locations including Shoreditch, [...]
Our at-a-glance guide to Osborne’s mini-Budget December 5, 2012 THE UK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK ■ The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has revised down its forecast for UK growth and revised up its forecast for public sector borrowing. It says the government is no longer likely to meet its target of reducing debt as a proportion of GDP in 2015-16, breaking its supplementary fiscal rule. [...]
We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to fix Britain’s trains October 3, 2012 THE announcement of the suspension of not only the West Coast train competition – which covers trains from Euston to the north west – but the whole of the rail franchising programme and a number of the department’s officials, has sent shock waves through Britain’s rail sector. Patrick McLoughlin, the secretary of state for transport, [...]
Olympic slump as ghost town effect worsens August 2, 2012 NEW DATA released yesterday shows just how hard central London has been hit by the Olympics’ focus on the east of the City, with fewer visitor numbers and a significant drop in traffic in the area. Figures from retail specialist Springboard shows that shops and restaurants were much quieter than expected over the first weekend [...]
City Moves | Who’s switching Jobs August 21, 2012 Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors David Lyscom has been appointed policy director of the professional membership body. He is a former UK ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and was also previously UK ambassador to Slovakia and the International Energy Agency (IEA). He will report to Dr Ian Peters, the institute’s [...]