Ebola outbreak: Half a million could be infected by end of January September 20, 2014 Hundreds of thousands more people could fall victim to the Ebola epidemic making its way through parts of West Africa, according to a report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a worst case scenario, it predicts as many as 550,000 people could be infected by the end of January next [...]
Gordon Brown: “Pre-referendum promises will be kept following Scottish independence defeat” September 20, 2014 In light of defeat for those seeking independence for Scotland, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown says guarantees made ahead of the referendum on change and further devolution will be delivered. On Thursday, the “No” campaign beat the “Yes” campaign by 2,001,926 votes to 1,617,989, resulting in Scotland remaining part of the UK. Describing [...]
Tackling illegal immigration: UK pledges £12m to help France September 20, 2014 The UK government has pledged £12m to France to help it stop illegal immigrants making their way from Calais to Britain. An agreement between home secretary Theresa May and her French counterpart Bernard Cazeneuve will result in the two countries working more closely together to reduce the scale of the problem. Part of that [...]
Instagram to introduce advertising in UK September 20, 2014 Users of Instagram in the UK will soon be exposed to adverts. The photo-sharing social network said it was slowly rolling out advertising in the UK, with the first adverts set to appear at some point in the “coming weeks”. Initially, adverts will just be for just a small selection of businesses, hand-picked [...]
Alibaba share price soars on huge market debut September 20, 2014 Shares in Alibaba went up by 38 per cent during its stock market debut yesterday, leading the biggest IPO in US history. The Chinese e-commerce giant started trading on Friday under the ticker "BABA" on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares were so popular that the price had to be revised up eight [...]
Vodafone saves nearly 900 jobs with Phones 4U buyout September 20, 2014 Vodafone announced yesterday that it is buying 140 Phones 4U outlets – a move that will save 887 jobs as the troubled retailer enters administration. Earlier this week, Phones 4U closed its 550 standalone stores after EE became the last mobile operator to terminate its sales through the stores. PwC, the company overseeing [...]
Alex Salmond resigns after failing to secure Scotland independence vote September 19, 2014 Alex Salmond is to resign as Scotland's first minister after he failed to secure a Yes vote in yesterday's Scottish independence referendum. The head of the Scottish National Party has been at the helm in the country since 2007 and overseen a huge upsurge in support for the SNP. But after the No campaign [...]
Pound falls against the dollar after early Scottish referendum euphoria September 19, 2014 After a fast start, the pound has lost steam against the dollar. As the Scottish referendum results revealed a 55 per cent no vote, investors expressed their relief by sending the pound up 0.47 per cent to a two-year high of 1.2749 against the euro. Against the dollar, it rose even more sharply, by 0.5 per cent, [...]
Will interests rates rise early after No vote in the Scottish independence referendum? September 19, 2014 The No vote in the Scottish independence referendum could make an interest rate next spring more likely. Despite the No vote, however, the consensus is that it remains unlikely that rates will rise before then. A Yes vote could well have postponed any hike. In a recent speech Mark Carney said he saw a rate rise next [...]
What is devo-max and what new devolution powers will Scotland have after the independence referendum results? September 19, 2014 Simply put, devolution means that the Scottish parliament gets more power. Currently, Scotland can make policy across a range of areas, including healthcare and education. This is why university is free in Scotland, even as tuition fees soar in England. Westminster rules the roost when in comes to some key areas: immigration, foreign policy, energy [...]