This noise-cancelling device means you can finally have office phone conversations in private January 11, 2017 Tired of leaping up from your desk every time you need to have a private phone conversation at the office? One company has unveiled the solution: a mask which absorbs your speech. The Hushme looks like a pair of headphones, but is designed to go around your mouth, absorbing noise so you can have conversations without your [...]
One Nine Elms has finally appointed a contractor after its bust-up with Balfour January 11, 2017 Chinese property giant Dalian Wanda said today that it had appointed a new contractor for its £1bn One Nine Elms project, after it fell out with its first choice. In November it emerged the company had failed to agree terms on the main build contract with Balfour Beatty, a pair of towers rising to 58 storeys which will [...]
Foxtons shares have fallen again as the mean streets of London continued to take their toll January 11, 2017 Estate agent Foxtons said tougher stamp duty rules and harsh trading conditions in London caused earnings to almost halve last year. The figures In a trading update this morning, Foxtons said revenues hit £133m in the year to the end of December, down from £150m the year before. Meanwhile, quarterly revenues fell to £26m, from £35m the year before. Adjusted earnings before interest, [...]
City A.M. Unregulated: Notes on (surviving) a scandal January 11, 2017 For our first podcast of 2017, we're joined by PR guru Paul Blanchard to discuss scandals – both avoiding and surviving them. He talks about what to do if you find yourself faced with the increasingly common scenario of a social media storm, and why sometimes the best course of action is to do nothing [...]
Southern Rail strikes “have hit house price growth” January 10, 2017 The first of three days of Southern strikes began this morning – but that's not the only woe faced by commuters along the line today, after it emerged house price growth has been hit by the action. Yep – after months of delays and strikes, house-hunters have finally been put off buying homes near stations [...]
Post Office is cutting 300 jobs as it ditches 37 offices January 10, 2017 The Post Office may cut as many as 300 jobs as it closes or franchises 37 of its offices. The Communication Workers Union said the job losses will include 127 financial specialist roles. In a statement today the Post Office said it is seeking partners for 37 branches, in addition to 93 it previously announced. “We’re [...]
The FTSE reaches another record high as sterling continues to slide after Theresa May’s single market comments January 10, 2017 The FTSE reached yet another record high this morning as sterling continued to fall, as comments by the Prime Minister over the weekend indicating that remaining within the single market will not be a priority during Brexit negotiations continued to take their toll. The FTSE 100 rose to a peak of 7,261.16 at the start of trading, [...]
Single Market blues: The pound’s fallen to its lowest level against the dollar since October January 9, 2017 The pound today fell to its lowest level against the dollar since October last year, after comments by Theresa May caused investors to shy away from the currency. The pound plunged one per cent to $1.2122 in afternoon trading. It also fell more than one per cent against the euro, to a day-low of €1.1491, [...]
Is this London’s most exclusive piece of real estate? One of Royal Albert Hall’s £2.5m Grand Tier boxes has gone on sale January 9, 2017 Here's the ultimate gift for the culture vulture who has everything: a Grand Tier box at the Royal Albert Hall has gone up for sale. The only catch? Its owner is accepting offers in excess of £2.5m. It's the first time in a decade a box on the grand tier, the same level as the royal box, [...]
These are the 23 funniest #TubeStrike tweets from miserable commuters January 9, 2017 A fine rain misted London's 5m-odd Tube passengers as they began the long trudge to work during today's 24-hour Tube strike. Say what you like about the capital's commuters, but at least they retained their sense of humour – on Twitter, anyway, where hundreds made their feelings known. Here are the best reactions: The first rule of [...]