UK supermarkets further increase plastic footprint despite pledges November 28, 2019 Seven out of the UK’s top 10 supermarkets increased their plastic footprint , as the total amount of plastic packaging used rose to 900,000 tonnes a year. Out of the UK’s 10 largest supermarkets, only Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury’s achieved marginal reductions over the past 12 months. Read more: Unilever pledges to cut plastic use [...]
UK construction sector shrinks for second consecutive month April 2, 2019 Britain’s construction sector contracted in March for the second month in a row, it was revealed today, as a slowing commercial market and Brexit uncertainty weighed on the sector. The construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 49.7 in March compared to 49.5 in February, the first back-to-back fall in output since August 2016. A score of [...]
Rail campaign group threatens legal action against Chris Grayling over beleaguered East Coast franchise April 19, 2018 Transport secretary Chris Grayling is being threatened with legal action by a campaigning group over the controversy surrounding the Virgin Trains East Coast mainline. Bring Back British Rail has instructed law firm Leigh Day to seek a judicial review of Grayling’s handling of the franchise, after it was announced that Virgin and Stagecoach’s joint contract [...]
Brazil backs Bolsanaro: what next? October 31, 2018 The will and ability to reform Financial markets, at least, had been rooting for a defeat of the left-wing candidate Fernando Haddad, successor to former president Lula, on the basis of the very different economic policies espoused by the two candidates. Superficially, this seems odd given that Bolsonaro has repeatedly voted against reform and spoken [...]
Night Tube rollout: London Overground’s 24-hour service extends to north London on 23 February 2018 February 13, 2018 The Night Overground service is set to be extended to Canonbury and Highbury & Islington from Friday 23 February after coming to the London Overground in December. Since 15 December, there have been 24-hour services every Friday and Saturday between Dalston Junction and New Cross Gate. Whitechapel is still to be included as it waits [...]
Island’s time: Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness on trade winds, Brexit and Windrush | City A.M. April 26, 2018 Jamaica’s Prime Minister had intended to spend last week talking to world leaders about issues such as the threat of climate change to his island nation. Instead, Andrew Holness was fielding questions from journalists about the Windrush scandal that was dominating headlines and embarrassing the UK government. The day before we meet at the Jamaican [...]
Analysts expect disappointing results from AstraZeneca as competition hits sales January 29, 2017 AstraZeneca is forecast to report disappointing results this week as competition continues to drag on sales. Revenue will slip six per cent while pre-tax profits fall seven per cent to $6bn, the drugs giant is expected to say in its annual results according to reports. The decline in revenue is due to increased competition in its core business as cheaper versions of drugs like [...]
Piccadilly line Night Tube launch to go ahead on Friday despite ongoing disruption as mayor says “lessons must be learned” December 14, 2016 Despite the mayor acknowledging that "Piccadilly line service has not been good enough" with ongoing disruption caused "for thousands of people," the launch of the Night Tube will go ahead as planned. It starts on the line – the fifth to get the all-night treatment – on Friday 16 December and will run all night [...]
AstraZeneca facing a shareholder revolt over performance targets March 13, 2016 Shareholders of drug giant AstraZeneca are gearing up for a revolt at the firm’s annual meeting next month after chief executive Pascal Soriot was handed £8.4m in pay last year. AstraZeneca will come under fire for not writing a key revenue target into Soriot’s bonus package. The pharmaceuticals group has revealed that Soriot’s pay more [...]
RBS share price dives to lowest level since 2012 as it announces £2bn provision for fines and £498m write-down for Coutts private banking January 27, 2016 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced a £2.5bn hit on its profits, thanks largely to a £1.5bn provision for claims in the US relating to mortgage-backed securities. The bank's share price was down 3.72 per cent to 251.2p just after markets opened this morning – its lowest since 2012. The bank will make a loss in 2015: [...]