London Stock Exchange becomes takeover target
The London Stock Exchange has become a takeover target after its proposed merger with Canadian rival TMX was ditched. The Toronto-based group indicated it was unlikely to win the necessary two-thirds support from its shareholders. The collapse of the deal…
UK factory PMI surges to 16-month high, exports recover
Growth at British factories surged unexpectedly to a 16-month high in October, helped by a recovery in export orders, according to a survey that will temper some of the concern that the economy is losing steam after two years of…
Europe Calls for Tougher Rules on Global Markets
Sometimes it’s not just what is said that counts, but the way it is said. And if tone is anything to go by, the leaders of the European Union’s largest economies are dead serious about cleaning up global finance markets….
Petrol Politics: How Much Should an Oil Spill Cost?
How serious should the penalties for an oil spill be? In early November, Chevron and its drilling partner Transocean accidentally spilled some 3,000 barrels of oil into the ocean off the coast of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. As oil…
Betting on Big Solar
It’s good news for solar advocates and bad news for competitors: General Electric is breaking into the solar business in a major way. In April, GE announced it had built a solar module with the highest publicly reported efficiency rate…
Can Silicon Valley and Detroit Reinvent the Car Business?
In the month of October, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler once again increased their share of cars and light trucks sold in America. In the third quarter of this year, the companies all reported solid profits. In fact, for the…
Sheet Metal Worker
Sheet metal workers make sure you stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer by servicing the heating and cooling equipment in buildings. These tradesmen and women may specialize in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems (also known as…
US and 11 other countries reach landmark Pacific trade pact
Trade ministers from 12 countries announced the largest trade-liberalizing pact in a generation on Monday. In a press conference in Atlanta, trade ministers from the US, Australia and Japan called the the Trans-Pacific Partnership an “ambitious” and “challenging” negotiation that…
The mixed fortunes of a fuel
IN A high-tech world, dirty black lumps of coal might seem like an anachronism. Yet coal is far from a thing of the past. However whizzy your iPad, your wall-mounted television or your electric car, the chances are that it…
New DNA test for embryos could boost IVF success rates
A test that checks for abnormal amounts of DNA in IVF embryos has raised pregnancy rates at US fertility clinics that have started to offer the procedure. Scientists in Oxford who helped develop the test claim it can boost the…
Renewable electricity overtakes coal for first time in UK
Britain generated more of its electricity from renewable sources than from burning coal for the first time in the second quarter of 2015, as more wind and solar farms were built. A record high of 25.3 per cent of the…
Banks fail to meet targets to increase lending to small business
Banks failed to increase lending to small businesses in the first three months of 2010, despite political pressure to free up the credit markets. The Bank of England’s latest credit conditions survey found that credit made available to small business…