From Greek elections and Apple’s record-making profits to Thameslink floods and Afren’s misery: Here’s what got us talking this week
News was dominated by results from the US this week, but it was Apple that really made waves with its history-making profits of $18bn in one quarter. Here are five things that put that into perspective. (Hint: It's huge).
Meanwhile as the results of the Greek election began to sink in, investors started reacting. First up the stock market dropped, and by Thursday bonds were going crazy, with yields jumping to 18.5 per cent on three-year paper. This story has legs.
If you were a Thameslink commuter there was only one thing that got you going, and not in a good way. Two separate floods caused train cancellations, delays and rising blood pressure throughout the week. Now tensions are growing between Thameslink and Thames Water over who is to blame – and who will pay the bill. Here come the waterworks.
Oil producer Afren had a torrid week after it revealed a funding crisis, with 72 per cent being wiped off its share price in one day. The Aim-listed business said it needed $200m (£133m) to avoid collapsing and Friday was a day of reckoning. See how it fared here.
The world of science – and cooking – was amazed and a little alarmed by the news you could unboil an egg with a material found in urine. This is not just an eggcuse to lay some eggstremely bad puns – it could save the biotech industry as much as £105bn. No yolk.
The non-event of the week was the weather. The New York blizzard was more of a damp squib and despite TfL stockpiling salt, London's weather was distinctly un-Narnia-esque.
Leisurely reads
Tesco finally confirmed which stores it was closing this week, but it didn't explain why. This piece, showing where each of the closures will take place, shows a pattern emerging that suggests discounters Aldi and Lidl have more than a little to do with the decision.
Exclusive to City A.M. is this huge piece of work showing just how much of a death trap London has become for cyclists. We have tracked every slight, serious and fatal incident during the course of one year. It's shockingly high.
Following the news that Transport for London was looking to make money out of its property portfolio, we did some digging and mapped every single part of its estate. There's a lot more than you might expect, and it's well worth a read.
Best of the Rest
Sky Atlantic's big budget new series Fortitude landed on our screens this week (after this excellent publicity stunt) to rave reviews. But what was it like to work on the show? Trade magazine Broadcast went behind the scenes.
What would Adam Smith make of the financial crisis, quantitative easing and tightening regulation? The Economist thinks it knows.
Gap sacked its creative director Rebekka Bay this week as sales continue to slide. Business journal Retail Week explains how the US retailer missed the gap in the fashion market.