The Monday morning coffee catch-up
It’s Monday again! Here’s a round-up of all the news you may have missed from the last week in business (30th June – 6th July).
Money:
The UK economy is set to become the second biggest in Europe by the year 2020, overtaking close-neighbours France. Aided by the increasing strength of the Pound, the UK is seeing improvements in unemployment rates and inflation, but will still trail Germany as Europe’s leaders.
Technology:
A fine issued to Network Rail for poor service is to be used to improve the performance of wi-fi on commuter trains across England and Wales. The new service, which aims to be 10-times faster than currently available, will be ready within 4 years.
People & HR:
Tighter visa rules are limiting international talent options, according to Vince Cable. The number of highly skilled European workers arriving in the UK had fallen by 28 per cent between 2007 and 2013, to a total of 242,000.
Franchising:
French transport group Keolis has been awarded a new franchise to run London’s Dockland’s Light Railway (DLR) from December. They will operate the franchise as Keolis Amey Docklands until April 2021. The railway currently carries around 100 million passengers each year and generated £90million in 2013 for ousted owners Serco.
