The love affair with Concorde

Concorde flew regular transatlantic flights from London Heathrow to New York JFK, operated by British Airways, between 1977 and 2003 when the aircraft was retired. This enabled passengers to travel between the two cities in less than three and a half hours, travelling at over mach 2, or twice the speed of sound.

Concorde was the aircraft of choice for the rich and famous between London and New York and amongst the celebrities that used the aircraft were Diana Ross, Phil Collins, Mick Jagger, Joan Collins, Sean Connery, Elton John and Rod Stewart. This video, which shows the farewell and very last departure of Concorde from JFK, always puts a lump in my throat from the loss of a baby which Londoners and New Yorkers had fallen in love with and which offered the best way to have breakfast between London and New York.

What Financial Reform Means for Both Sides of the Pond

Financial blogger for Reuters Felix Salmon and Bloomberg Business week's Roben Farzad discuss fiscal reform in both the US and UK, the dynamics between the countries' finance industries and whether London and NYC have a stronger financial future.

Audio-

Finalists Revealed For The New NYC Taxi

Yesterday New York City Mayor, Michael Bloomberg gave a preview of the three designs competing to become the next official NYC taxi. Nisssan, Ford, and Turkish manufacturer Karsan are offering designs that are more minivan based rather than resembling a passenger car. The reason for the competition is to find a successor to the discontinued Ford Crown Victoria and the mixed collection of hybrid cars and sport utility vehicles that are temporarily filling in.

Full article -

http://www.psfk.com/2010/11/finalists-revealed-for-the-new-nyc-taxi.html

10 Biggest Selling Music Acts from London and New York City

London and New York are true heavyweights when it comes to entertaining the world having produced music acts which pepper every list and compilation of the best music acts of all time from Rolling Stone magazine to VH1 and from true rock hall of fame legends to modern day heroes and villains. This is a list of the biggest ever selling music acts from London and New York City by highest reputed sales followed by London giants Led Zeppelin performing at New York's Madison Square Garden in 1973 - a legendary band at a legendary venue.

1. Led Zeppelin, London - 200 million-300 million

2. The Rolling Stones, London - 150 million-300 million

3= Mariah Carey, New York City - 200 million

3= Pink Floyd, London - 200 million

5. Whitney Houston, New York City - 170 million

6= Frank Sinatra, New York City - 150 million

6= Genesis, London - 150 million

8 =David Bowie, London - 140 million

8= Barbra Streisand, New York City - 140 million

10. Status Quo, London - 118 million

Top 10 Largest Companies in London and NYC by Market Capitalisation

A list of the top ten largest companies with headquarters in London and New York by market capitalisation. The total value of just these top ten titanic companies exceeds an astonishing $1.2 trillion (£750 billion) split almost equally between London and New York (source: market data digital outlook close: 22/11/2010)

1. HSBC, London - $184,311m (£115,628m)

2. JP Morgan Chase, New York City - $149,604 (£93,834m)

3. Pfizer, New York City - $132,885m (£83,349m)

4. BP, London - $129,109m (£80,997m)

5. Citigroup, New York City - $121,430m (£76,168m)

6. Shell, London* - $113,210m (£71,020m)

7. Phillip Morris International, New York City - $107,235m (£67,263m)

8. Glaxosmithkline, London - $103,304m (£64,807m)

9. BHP Billiton, London** - $81,543m (£51,159m)

10. Goldman Sachs, New York City - $81,495m (£51,118m)

*Royal Dutch Shell shares headquarters with The Hague, Netherlands

**BHP Billiton shares headquarters with Melbourne, Australia

Shard becomes London's tallest building

Statistics

• Due for completion 2012
• Height 310m (1,017ft)
• 72 floors
• Architect Renzo Piano

Congratulations goes to London and the Shard which yesterday became the tallest building in London and the UK, surpassing 1 Canada Square which has held the title since 1991. Here is a short video tracking progress of the building to date, courtesy of hodderr1 on youtube.