Day: December 27, 2015

    The UK is set to become the best performing economy in western Europe next year, and is likely to overtake powerhouses Germany and Japan in the 2030s, a report said today. The World Economic League Table from think tank the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), said the UK is set to rise up the world rankings due to the strength of its IT and software industries as well as its culturally diverse workforce. The UK is currently the fifth largest economy in the world, with a gross domestic product (GDP) worth three trillion US dollars (£2 trillion) this year, behind Germany at 3.3 trillion US dollars (£2.2 trillion), and Japan in third spot at 4.1 trillion US dollars (£2.7 trillion). The US remains the richest country in the world with a GDP worth 18 trillion US ...

    Shoppers from overseas with a penchant for luxury goods helped to fuel a Boxing Day sales bonanza as millions hit the stores, leading experts to suggest that reports about the death of the high street have been premature. Retail analysts said wealthy tourists from China and the Middle East were spending four or five times as much as their British counterparts on items such as jewellery, watches and designer handbags. There were claims that shoppers were on course to spend a record £3.74bn in the Boxing Day sales. Selfridges said it had enjoyed its most successful ever first hour of trading, taking more than £2m from 9am-10am. There were nearly 4,000 people snaking around the outside of the department store even before it opened its doors. Harrods saw one of its biggest que...

    It was the day the floodwaters inexorably advanced across the Pennines, leaving much of the north of England sodden and beleaguered. From Greater Manchester in the north-west to parts of North Yorkshire some 50 miles to the east, Boxing Day 2015 will be remembered as the day the rains came. In Todmorden, in West Yorkshire’s Calder Valley, Rebecca Marshall was last night facing the grim prospect of having to abandon her home as the floodwaters slowly rose around her house. The incessant rains had left the little town cut off after all the roads in and out were flooded. By late afternoon the waters were “inches” from the top of the local defence wall and Marshall was stuck inside her home without electricity. Then floodwaters started to rise through her floorboards. “At the ...

    Heavy rains continue to cause more flooding in northern England, with several homes being evacuated in Yorkshire and Lancashire, and rivers overflowing in Manchester, Hebden Bridge and Leeds. Severe flood warnings, including those indicating a danger to life, have been issued. The army has been deployed to some villages to bolster flood defense. The Met Office has warned of further rainfall for northern England, Scotland and Wales. The Prime Minister has promised to send more troops to "do whatever is needed" to help people in large swathes of northern England stricken by floods. Thousands of people are being evacuated after "unprecedented" levels of rain have caused rivers to burst their banks and left homes under water in York, Leeds and Manchester. The Government has vo...