Network Rail to open click and collect shops December 2, 2013 COMMUTERS will be offered the chance to pick up their parcels from the train station as part of a trial being run by Network Rail. The rail operator announced today that it will soon open the prototype branch of Doddle, its new delivery shop, in Milton Keynes Central. Visitors to the station, including around 3,000 [...]
There’s no reason to fear local shale development in South East England August 18, 2013 ALTHOUGH the national case for shale has been put strongly, for many people in the South East the arguments in favour of local shale developments have not been made with enough clarity. They are, however, relatively straightforward. First, they will benefit the local economy, and second, they won’t be nearly as disruptive as is often [...]
The 24 hour Tube is a triumph for London – but we can go further November 21, 2013 IN AN open letter to passengers, the mayor and Transport for London have committed themselves to a 24 hour Tube. It’s an exciting announcement, and will undoubtedly deliver a boost to London’s £8bn a year dining and entertainment industry. But there are wider implications for the capital. For decades, the Underground has run New Year’s [...]
What you need to know before the open – 18/12 December 18, 2013 Today is the day the Fed's Open Market Committee makes a decision on whether to trim back its quantitative easing programme. The tapering debate has rattled on for almost eight months now, with uncertainty persistently subduing the markets. Robust economic data has left many questioning the likelihood of a December (as opposed to a March [...]
London Report: Economic data to show UK recovery on a steady course August 31, 2014 ECONOMIC data due this week appears to show continuing steady growth in the UK’s economy, with little chance of an interest rate rise when the Bank of England announces its latest decision on Thursday. Mortgage approvals data for July, due today, may have dipped slightly, but analysts expect this weakness to be temporary. Meanwhile manufacturing [...]
Damac steers London listing over the line December 3, 2013 The Dubai-based property group became the first major company from the region to float in London since 2007, yesterday. David Hellier went to meet its founder. FOR a man who had just spearheaded a main market share listing in London and had been to the London Stock Exchange for its market opening ceremony, Damac founder [...]
London Report: Mining shares lift FTSE despite doubt over ECB September 2, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index steadied near a two-month high yesterday, with some caution before the European Central Bank’s policy meeting tomorrow offsetting a rally in miners prompted by stronger metals prices. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index ended 0.06 per cent higher at 6,829.17 points after rising up to 6,849.28 points, the highest level since early [...]
Carney sets out plan to stem housing boom November 28, 2013 BRITAIN’S resurgent housing market risks becoming a danger to the economy, Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned yesterday as he and the Treasury stopped the cheap funding on offer for mortgages, instead favouring sustained support for small business loans. Mortgage rates have plunged since the Funding for Lending scheme was launched in August 2012 [...]
The real reason squeezing the rich makes us all poorer February 26, 2014 RADICAL reform of income tax is not only desirable, but completely possible. To achieve it, however, proponents of change need to provide a strong evidence base for a much flatter tax system, with a much lower top rate in the UK in particular. We need to show that the optimal revenue-raising top rate of tax [...]
France has ignored consumers and the digital economy is bearing the brunt January 17, 2014 PRESIDENT Francois Hollande would like us to think that France is about to bounce back. At a press conference yesterday, he detailed plans for a “responsibility pact” with business – a deal to reduce the burden of social levies on companies by €30bn (£24bn) by 2017, in return for businesses pledging to increase hiring and [...]