Government pauses smart motorways for five years following safety concerns January 12, 2022 The UK Government has announced it will put the development of 57 miles of new ‘all-lane’ smart motorways on hold for five years, following safety concerns. As a result of today’s decision, smart motorways works on the M3, M40/42, M62 and M25 will be suspended. The project’s safety and economic data will be collected for [...]
TfL targets one million fines a year, top Met officer says January 12, 2022 Transport for London (TfL) is set to target one million speeding fines a year, as more than 623,000 prosecutions have taken place between 2020 and 2021. According to Simon Ovens, chief superintendent at the Met’s roads and transport policing command, TfL has “a clear position to get to a target of one million prosecutions a [...]
British Airways axes hundreds of flights following booking slump January 12, 2022 British Airways (BA) has reportedly scrapped three flight routes, axing hundreds of flights until the summer. Routes from London Heathrow to US destinations such as Nashville, New Orleans and Baltimore were cancelled as a result of a Covid-induced slump in bookings, the Sun first reported. Flights to New Orleans will end on 15 January while [...]
Centrica boss on the energy crisis: High gas bills are here to stay January 12, 2022 Brits have been told the energy crisis may last for two years, according to Centrica’s chief executive Chris O’Shea. O’Shea said “the market suggests” high gas prices will continue “for the next 18 months to two years”. He said the high demand for gas was partly being driven by a move away from coal and [...]
Pfizer to slash ‘few hundred’ sales jobs as doctors opt for virtual meetings January 11, 2022 Pfizer has revealed plans to slash its US sales team as it anticipates healthcare providers will opt for virtual meetings above in-person interactions. The vaccine-maker did not state how many sales roles it was planning to cut, however, a source familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency that a few hundred jobs would [...]
Households in colder parts of country could receive heating support boost January 11, 2022 Families in colder areas of the country may receive more government financial support for heating costs this winter. The Treasury is reportedly mulling giving more cash to areas that are forced to use heating more, as energy bills have skyrocketed in recent months. The idea is being considered ahead of a package of measures to [...]
Boeing snatches Airbus crown on adjusted order basis January 11, 2022 US plane manufacturer Boeing has snatched Airbus’s crown as the world’s largest aircraft maker on an adjusted order basis. While the European plane maker remains the world’s largest manufacturer for the number of planes delivered, the Seattle-based company ended the year with 535 net orders while Airbus’s total amounted to 507. Boeing’s deliveries – which [...]
Exclusive: ‘Omicron is a reminder the world is only as good as the weakest link in the vaccination chain,’ says abrdn exec January 11, 2022 Ongoing inflationary shocks, questions around interest rates and the emergence of the new Omicron Covid variant are all making navigating uncertainty more challenging. Nonetheless, when we look beyond the headlines, there remain some reasons for optimism going into 2022, according to Richard Dunbar, head of multi-asset research at global investment giant abrdn. Square Mile-based Dunbar [...]
Tesla registers record sales of China-made vehicles January 11, 2022 Tesla sold a record 70,847 China-made vehicles in December, the highest number since the US company started manufacturing in Shanghai in 2019. According to data from the China Passenger Car Association, the manufacturer’s sales tripled compared with the previous year, also going up 34 per cent on November levels. The latest production influx pushed the [...]
Average used car price surges as market continues to grow January 11, 2022 The price of a used car surged 30.5 per cent year-on-year, making December the 21st consecutive month of growth for the second-hand automotive market. According to Auto Trader’s retail price index, the £17,816 average was driven by mainly by exceptional levels of consumer demand, reflected in the 27 per cent increase in visits to Auto [...]