Arriva and SNCF Talk About Partnership

The British bus and train company Arriva mentioned having talks with French national train company SNCF about a possible partnership.

Arriva currently runs most of the train services as well as the cross country network. Partnering with SNCF could mean that the French company may invest in these operations of Arriva. In the process Arriva could also help SNCF in any conflict with the German train company Deutsche Bahn.

Europe's railways have also been opened to new competition laws since the start of the year.

Arriva and SNCF Talk About Partnership

Papa John's UK

Papa John's is an American pizza take-away with a market in Britain. They currently have 142 stores throughout the UK and have plans to open 40 more in 2010. They have seen a rise in sales for more than four years and saw a particular increase in the last winter.

The rise may owe partly to the recession as many preferred eating at home rather than going out to restaurants. Papa John's have also benefited from their new online order system where people may order even up to 14 days in advance. Thirty percent of their orders come online.

The company is one that looks for people franchising and in the last year has had around 1'200 applications. Their Managing Director Ian Saunders promises the franchisees great support before, during and after and recommends this course for those who would not want to risk running their own entrepreneurial venture in these economic times but would still like to run a business.

Source: Working Lunch, BBC. (27-01-2010)

Papa John's UK

UK Space Industry

When imagining space crafts most people would think of the USA. However there is also a growing space industry in the UK. The space industry is said to be one of the highest value adding sectors in the UK economy.

Surrey Satellite Technology is a manufacturing company in this industry based in Guildford, Surrey, although their products are usually launched in sites across the former USSR.

The company launched 34 satellites in the last 25 years. Most of the satellites they make are for taking images of the Earth using cameras, but they also make other telecommunication and navigational ones as well. The biggest contract they have right now is making 'Galileo' which will be a navigation system for Europe and up against Americas GPS system.

The company claims to already be popular within the industry. The popularity has grown out of the country and last year a European Satellite manufacturer bought a controlling stake of the business.

So how does this small British company compete with the massive manufacturers in the United States? Their answer is lowering the costs. Rather than using the traditional and very expensive space qualified components, Surrey Satellite Technology uses commercial of-the-shelf parts.

With their alternative methods, this UK company has managed to give a substitute to the American products for the UK and European space industry, and so far their exports are on the rise.

Source: Working Lunch, BBC. (26-01-2010)

UK Space Industry

Red Tape and Taxes May Prevent New Jobs

There is a warning that companies may refrain from creating new jobs in the face of having to pay higher taxes and more on regulations.

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has announced that new employment legislation and taxes will cost businesses almost £26bn over the next four years. Around half of that will be because of next years 1% increase in employer National Insurance contributions.

Source: http://www.britishchambers.org.uk/business-news/businesses-face-26bn-red-tape-costs.html. (20-01-2010)

Red Tape and Taxes May Prevent New Jobs