Monthly Archives: July 2008

British Gas: the biggest one-off increase in energy bills

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Businesses and homes, beware: The biggest gas increase ever has hit us! The Telegraph.co.uk heads with the article, “British Gas hits customers with biggest one-off increase in energy bills ever recorded”. Families are paying £400 more a year for their energy than they were at the start of the year. The price increases, people tremble and the British Gas owners become richer everyday. The Times Online reveals that “British Gas owner makes almost £1bn profit”. BBC News speaks about “Anger over £1bn Centrica profits” and the Guardian.co.uk says: “British Gas provokes fury with biggest ever price rise”.

It’s a neverending history that splits the society: we need to use energy and we must save it. In the last years our society has to become more respectful of the world’s resources and the recent price increase of all the kinds of energy has helped the new saving policy. But even if the environmental activism is taking advantage, common people are scared. The Earth claims respect, but on one side billions of pounds profit earned by energy companies on the other millions worries about the escalation of the prices. Business Made Simple has addressed the problem and invited you to get involved and say what you think about the crisis. British Gas has promised it will not increase its bills again before the end of the year, but most energy experts were expecting a further round of price increases this winter. Can customers look on the bright side of this unbelievable increase?! What do you think?

Markets stormy and Exchange swinging from London to the world

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Welcome back to London Presence. In our daily press review, we want to talk again about the turbulant time for the Economy around the World. Bloomberg, our favourite reference, has underlined again today that the European confidence has dropped most since September 11 Attacks. In his analysis, the editor Fergal O’Brien explains how “Europeans’ confidence in the outlook for the economy dropped the most since the September 11 terrorist attacks…”.

Last week the German Finance Ministry spoke about the long way to a recovery in Europe’s biggest economy, the euro rose to $1.5916, whilst the dollar and the pound slumped against the euro. Then, after the announcement by the Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson concerning the possibility of raising interest rates, the dollar has started to rise against the yen once more. In the meantime the pound has stabilised against the dollar, but analysts have warned the pound is to weaken by the fear of a UK recession.

It’s a volatile period in which markets are stormy and exchanges are swinging in every direction. The bull and bear of the market seem to have replaced the inconsistency in London weather as we seem to have found a sunny patch for a change.

A lot of experts suggest just one solution: spreadbets. “Spreadbetting is a way in which risks can be reduced and overall returns enhanced”, say senior sales traders. But what is a spreadbet?

Keep in touch and we will soon explain what it means and how it works.

Top 10 museums in London

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Let’s start the week with something fun… Here at London presence, we know that most of our clients live outside of London, so here is a guide of the London museums if you are visiting this great city as a tourist. London is the city of business, lifestyle and culture so, after the economic news, here we are the top 10 of the museums, draft by monthly visitors:

Tate Gallery – 6,025,888

The first position is a double position, because it involves two museums: Tate Britain and Tate modern are the home of British art from the sixteenth century to the present day and of international modern and contemporary art. From one side of the river to the other one, they offer collective and individual exhibitions to convey British art, discover new artists and increase public knowledge.

British Museum – 4,492,852

British Museum tells the histories of the world, looking into the past to understand the present and discover the future. It offers a vast display from every country and every age. From Thursday 24th of July to Sunday 26 October 2008 the new major exhibition will be dedicated to the Roman Emperor Hadrian, his life, his emperor and his conflict.

National Gallery – 3,557,839

Fine arts and portraits are kept in the main building of Trafalgar Square: this museum is a great opportunity for every kind of visitors to discover art, through pictures. It offers a permanent collection and few temporary exhibitions (at the moment you shouldn’t miss the Radical Light: Italy’s Divisionist Painters 1891-1910).

Natural History Museum – 3,200,645

Natural History Museum promotes the discovery, understanding and enjoyment of the natural world. Children and adults can explore a landmark buildings and all its secrets about the universe and the human being.

Science Museum – 2,019,931

Science and technology for all the family, this museum offers interactive exhibits – fun for groups and families to see the world in a new and different way.

Victoria & Albert Museum – 1,902,587

This enormous museum is stuffed with different collections broken up into continents of the world that cover all manner of historical artifacts and art works: Architecture, Asia, British Galleries, Ceramics, Childhood, Contemporary, Fashion, Jewellery & Accessories, Furniture, Glass, Metalwork, Paintings & Drawings, Photography, Prints & Books, Sculpture, Textiles and Theatre & Performance.

National Maritime Museum – 1,493,042

This museum dedicated to the sea and to the stars, comprises three sites: The Maritime Galleries, the Royal Observatory and the Queen’s House. One huge museum that illustrates to everyone the importance of the sea, ships, time and the stars and their relationship with people: it is the largest number of visitors of the museum far from the centre and located in Greenwhich.

Imperial War Museum – 690,529

At the moment it offers 2 big exhibitions: For Your Eyes Only: Ian Fleming and James Bond (from 17th April 2008 to 1st March 2009) – to celebrate the centenary of Ian Fleming’s birth, and From War to Windrush (from 13th June 2008 to 29th March 2009) – to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the arrival of the MV Empire Windrush in Britain in 1948.

Museum of London – 375,013

This museum found in the Docklands tells the story of the city. At the moment we return to the scene of London’s most infamous crimes of Jack the Ripper and the East End, the first exhibition to explore the Jack the Ripper murders and their enduring legacy.

All museums in London are free (you have to pay to visit the temporary events) and are open 7 days a week. You justneed to plan your visit!

A great solution: a virtual office!

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A physical London office has a great impact on business, but it’s very expensive. Cost and quality of life are not the least significant factors to decide on having a virtual office in such an expensive and important city of the world. A Virtual Office is a guarantee of a high level of communication (dedicated receptionists answer calls in your company name), a prestigious business address, corporate boardrooms, meeting rooms and office space.

A Virtual Office give clients the impression that you operate from the heart of London and protect your home address, it doesn’t have any setup fees and has a low monthly cost. A Virtual Office is the best solution to have the prestige of a multinational corporation, without the cost: the cheapest chance for a global future.

How can you rent a Virtual Office in London? Joining londonpresence.com is easy and fast: you just need to fill the form online! Choose your package from the list and follow the easy instructions and in three days you can have an address in London for your company.

Latest News to start the new week

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Good morning! We are back to make you more of a Londoner. So here is a quick update on all the latest business news:

  • Here comes summer, and with it the spectacle of swathes of public sector workers taking to the streets. Soaring inflation is cutting real-terms pay, say the unions, but employers claim they can’t afford any more. From PublicFinance.co.uk
  • Disgraced Tory MP Derek Conway given year to repay money Derek Conway, the MP who paid his son £50,000 as a researcher while he was away at university, has been given a year to repay a quarter of the money, it has been reported. From the Telegraph.co.uk
  • European Stocks, U.S. Futures Fall; Banks, Airlines Lead Drop. European stocks and U.S. index futures fell as concern deepened credit losses and the economic slowdown will hurt earnings. Most Asian shares advanced. From Bloomberg.com
  • Ryanair profits plunge 85%. Shares in airlines slumped today as budget carrier Ryanair reported an 85% fall in first-quarter net profit and warned it could plunge into the red for the full year. Ryanair shares tumbled 15% to €2.74 (217p), dragging down low-cost rival EasyJet, which fell 10% to 301.75p. From Guardian.co.uk
  • MPs seek windfall tax on energy profits. There is a “compelling rationale” for a windfall tax on the profits of energy companies, MPs argue in a report on Monday. They also claim businesses and households are paying excessive fuel bills because of failures in the British energy market. From FT.com
  • House Prices ‘Will Soar by 25%’. House prices fell for the 10th month in a row during July – but there are claims the property market will bounce back stronger than ever. House prices fell for the 10th month in a row during July – but there are claims the property market will bounce back stronger than ever. Homes in England and Wales lost a further 1.2% of their value during the past four weeks, new figures show. From Sky News

Having a London Presence is cheap and easy, and with Londonpresence.com it is much more than a simple presence.

Beijing 2008 – London 2012 : an olympic adventure for everybody

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It’s just 14 days until the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in China. But will Beijing be ready to host the world’s most important sporting event? Half a million visitors are going and all the media of the five continents are watching at the Chinese challenge. Will China be able to amaze the world? London doesn’t miss any detail; it wants to check everything China is doing, because our city will be the next location of the Olympic Games 2012.

It’s just 1463 days until the beginning, just 4 years to create an unforgettable show and to organise the most accessible and participative Games yest. The heart of London 2012 will be the Sport and the city, but the Olympic Games are more than London and more than sport, the main idea is to touch people, inspiring them to do more and to try new things throughout field of sport, culture and business.

London 2012 is a new challenge and a new business opportunity, not only for the committee but for us all. The organization is already working to prepare all the structures, to improve the transport, to plan the celebrations and begin the long wait to the 27th of July 2012 (the start date of the games). The new Olympic Games in the UK will be unbelievable and those 1463 days will be a journey made of cultural and fun events.

On the 24th of August – the day in which the Olympic Games will close in Beijing, a huge free concert – ‘The Visa London 2012 Party’ will be organized for 40,000 people (and broadcast live on BBC One and Radio 2 for everyone else). It will be the first date of a long list that we can’t miss.

But the Olympic Games won’t be just a fun moment; they will be an important opportunity for your business and your career. The main organisation needs help in different fields (from construction, engineering and manufacturing to creative, merchandising and retail), with more than 75,000 business opportunities. Most of them are perfect small and medium sized group (like yours), others are a more professional position – ideal for your career. The keyword is be involved. We will do our best to give you the right suggestions to take all the opportunities and reap all the benefits from this incredible event.

London papers: the battle to win readers

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Yesterday we spoke about the most read news websites, so today we want provide you with all the links to the printed news in London from London. What can be better in the morning than to start your day by reading your paper and drinking your coffee (or tea)?!

First of all we have the free press:

City A.M.

This free paper specialises in financial news and it has been available outside every tube station in central London from Monday to Friday since 2005. It was the first free newspaper to speak solely about financial matters.

London Lite

The famous gossip-based London paper (if that’s your cup of tea)! Pick this one up if you want to hear the latest on Amy Winehouse’s debauched antics- it focusses on entertainment/celebrity news as well as general London news.

The London Paper

Another free newspaper, published everyday from Monday to Friday by the same editor of The Sun and the The Times. It was launched on the 4th of September 2006 to be the first competitor to the Evening Standard- do you think it has succeeded?

Metro

Metro has the largest readership of the urban newspapers. And from the March 1999, when it was created, it has grown so much that it can be considered a publishing phenomenon. Every weekday morning, it counts 1,300,000 copies distribuited across the UK. In succession we have The London Paper and The London Lite with about half the number of copies.

Not for free:

Evening Standard

It was launched in 1827 and it counts more than 260 miles of newsprint every day. It’s published by Associated Newspapers- the same editing group as some of the national papers such as The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and Metro.

The London Gazette

This is the oldest English newspaper (it is still only published on weekends) and the oldest continuously published newspaper in the United Kingdom. It was first number has been published on the 7th of November 1665.

Beyond London, we have the national newspapers. The prices range from 35p to £2. The Times is the UK’s leading daily newspaper (named by the British Business Survey 2005), it was founded in 1785 and it counts more than 615 miles of print every day. Below is a list of all the national newspapers:

Daily Express
Daily Mail
Daily Star
Financial Times
Guardian
Independent
Mirror
Morning Star
Observer
Sun
Telegraph
Times

Press review: 5 most read newspaper websites

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Everyday we are bombarded by news. We are inundated 24 hours a day… blasted at almost every moment by millions of bits of information. And the internet has made all the difference: we are just a click away from finding out what is happening anywhere in the world. It seems that once we have decided what we want to know, sometimes finding it is the hard part.

Almost every single newspaper, tabloid, magazine or supplement has an online edition of the publication. So what is the most popular newspaper site in the UK?! According to a new ranking, dated 19th of June 2008, the Mail Online is the most popular national newspaper website.

Now that we can’t base readership figures exclusively on papers sold, how do we count the readers?! Easy: unique users, traffic growth and page impressions. But what are the numbers?

According to the survey conducted in May this year, this is the readership of the respective online papers:

Online newspaper No. of users (millions)
Mail Online 18.7
Telegraph.co.uk 18.5
Guardian.co.uk 18.3
Times Online 15.9
Sun Online 14.9

Rather than wade through pages and pages of dense national news, you should come back to our blog here at Londonpresence.com for business orientated, local London news – straight from the heart of the city!

Street Art: everything can be a great business

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When you are working in London, it can be hard to stop and see what is happening. Everything is fast and busy; London is an explosion of colours and activities, new businesses and arts. Everywhere, infact, there are museums, galleries and installations; some of which have existed for ages and some are just temporary. One of the most important features of this city is its great attention to Art. Londoners from every age, race,
and class are interested into the products of human creativity.

After all, business and art are the results of the same human need: expressing yourself. And art can be a business, a very profitable business. An example? Street art! For a long while, the question has been: is graffiti art or crime? Now it is: how can we use it to create a better city? And, how much does it cost? Because graffiti is undeniably the pop art of the new millennium. Banksy is the most representative example of the great attention to every kind of art in London, moreover the new and the collateral one. This anonymous British graffiti artist is now a legend able to convert the urban landscape with his graffiti. And behind him a new rich business is growing.

When you are walking around London you can’t miss a moment, not an inch! Everywhere is full of new ideas and you can see amazing things and revolutionary models for your own activity.

The best ways to get around London

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Hi there! Today is another lovely sunny day. Incredible?! No, this is London!

And one of the most important things when you come to work in London is to know how to get around the city. There are three major airports (Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted) and two smaller (Luton, and London City) and a number of central mainline stations (London Waterloo, London Victoria, London Bridge, London Liverpool Street, London Paddington, London Kings Cross, London St Pancras, London Euston, London Fenchurch Street, London Cannon Street and London Charing Cross).

You can arrive by plane, train or coach and be sure to be able to travel around London by Tube, DLR, Tram and Bus. The public transport website can help you to plan your movement up and down the City, discovering the best solution and the timing. A platoon of cabs are on the road and to stop one of them all you have to do is to lift your hand. There are also cabs from private companies, minivans and limousines. The most important thing is to have the right number to call to go everywhere.

London has an area of 609 sq mi (1,577.3 km²), divided in 32 boroughs: moving around can be a nightmare without a plan or an AZ Map! Also with sunny day like today.