Could Labour be set to make a big announcement on low pay at its party conference? September 18, 2014 Tackling low pay has been a central policy theme for Labour while in opposition, and it’s not hard to see why. While the economy is growing, wages aren’t rising in real-terms and people don’t feel better off. Ed Miliband knows this and has sought to focus his party’s strategy on the cost of living crisis [...]
Posen: “Joseph Stiglitz is wrong – the reality of Scottish independence is frightening” September 18, 2014 Following pro-independence assertions by economist Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz, saying the debate around Scottish independence had been "fear mongering", and that currency was a "non-issue", last night Adam Posen, the former Monetary Policy Committee member who now heads up the Peterson Institute for International Economics, published an article criticising his view. Cracking out the [...]
Furniture and vacuum cleaners drive retail sales into 17th month of growth September 18, 2014 Retail sales are starting to look healthier, with the volume of items bought in August up 3.9 per cent year-on-year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is the 17th month of consecutive year-on-year growth, prompting the ONS to say “it would be true to say that the underlying picture is one [...]
The City of London has its own caliphate – and they have away days in Hampshire September 18, 2014 Given what we've learned about caliphates over recent months – largely from the rise of the brutal Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East – the City of London, with its decidedly Western attitudes to money-making, is not where you’d expect to find one. But it turns out the Square Mile is home to [...]
Day trip to the moon, anyone? Scientists say the average person would be “fine” in space September 18, 2014 Astronauts are a very healthy bunch – before being sent up into space they must go through rigorous physical training and pass a multitude of medical tests. Even when on a mission there's no respite – the International Space Station is equipped with its very own treadmill to keep them in tip top form at [...]
London bus strikes: Here are the routes affected September 18, 2014 NB. This article was written in September 2014. If you're searching for info on the January 2015 bus strike, click here As if the travel chaos yesterday wasn't bad enough, Unite has announced strike action affecting around 50 bus routes will take place on Monday. TFL has warned the action is “likely to [...]
Will Scotland vote yes: Bookies change their odds on Scottish independence September 18, 2014 After yesterday's swing among bookmakers towards a Scottish No vote (see bottom of article) there were some more changes among the bookies today. Of the 19 that Oddschecker reports are still taking bets, all but five changed their stance on a Yes vote in today's Scottish independence referendum, while only seven held their ground on [...]
When will Edinburgh declare referendum results of Scottish independence vote? September 18, 2014 Edinburgh is due to announce the result of the Scottish independence referendum vote in the early hours of Friday morning. The count is expected to come in at 5am and the city is one of the last areas in Scotland to declare the results of the vote. The area makes up eight per cent of [...]
News Corp chief Robert Thompson calls Google a “platform for piracy” run by “cynical management” in letter to EU commissioner Joaquin Almunia September 18, 2014 News Corp has told the EU it believes Google is stifling competition and undermining the business model of “content creators” in its dominance of internet search. The Rupert Murdoch-owned company, which publishes the the Times, the Sun, the Wall Street Journal and book publisher Harpercollins lambasted Google in a letter to the EU’s competition commission [...]
Card Factory share price up as it reports rise in underlying profit after IPO September 18, 2014 Card Factory released its half-yearly report today, showing underlying profit before tax at £14.9m for the first half of its 2015 financial year, up from £1.8m in the first half of 2014. But the group made a loss, as the cost of its May 2014 IPO and debt-refinancing issues forced it £7.9m into the red. [...]