Amazon buys video site Twitch for close to $1bn August 25, 2014 Internet giant Amazon last night snapped up gamers’ video website Twitch for $970m (£585m). The service is just three years old, and is used by millions of gamers and viewers every month. In July 55m unique visitors watched 15bn minutes of videos – four-and-a-half hours on average. Amazon has a rapacious appetite for new tech [...]
First British Ebola patient William Pooley flies back from Africa to be treated August 25, 2014 The first British aid worker to be infected with the Ebola virus arrived back in the UK over the weekend, and is currently receiving treatment at a London hospital. Experts say treatment options are limited after an experimental drug treatment being used against the deadly virus ran out recently. William Pooley, a 29-year-old nurse from [...]
Nick Clegg joins directors over migration plea August 25, 2014 Deputy prime minister Nick Clegg last night joined a chorus of senior figures calling for overseas students to be excluded from immigration figures. The Liberal Democrat leader echoed a demand from Tory former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine, and the Institute of Directors, for a more flexible approach to student visas. Clegg, who is on [...]
Top state schools add £21,000 premium to house prices in catchment areas August 25, 2014 Buying a house in a catchment area for one of the best state schools in England can cost tens of thousands of pounds more than a similar home in the same area, according to research out today. Figures from Lloyds Bank indicate that it costs an average of £21,000 more to live in the catchment [...]
Manufacturers say pay deals are bucking national wage slump August 25, 2014 The UK’s industrial firms are reporting stronger wage growth than dismal official figures suggest, with a new survey indicating that wages in the sector are now accelerating at a faster pace than inflation. The latest figures from manufacturing industry body EEF show an average pay increase of 2.6 per cent between February and July, in [...]
Bank holiday wash-out for UK’s retailers August 25, 2014 The August bank holiday proved a wash-out for retailers after heavy rainfall yesterday kept shoppers away from stores. According to retail analysts Springboard, average footfall across shopping centres, high streets and retail parks was down by as much as 14.1 per cent up until midday yesterday alone after rain and strong winds swept across the [...]
Fuel price decline lifts spending power for embattled consumers August 25, 2014 The drop in fuel prices and lower inflation on other essential items is helping to prop up discretionary incomes in the UK, according to figures released this morning. Fuel prices fell by 2.9 per cent in the year to July, according to research conducted by Asda, while food prices also dipped by 0.4 per cent. [...]
Roche buys InterMune for $8.3bn in Swiss firm’s biggest deal for five years August 25, 2014 Roche, the huge Swiss-based pharmaceutical company, has bought biotechnology company InterMune for $8.3bn (£5bn), in Roche’s biggest acquisition for five years. The deal will see Roche pay $74 a share for rare lung disease specialist InterMune in an all cash transaction. The price represents a premium of 38 per cent on InterMune’s closing price [...]
Professional services hiring hits a record high even as growth eases August 25, 2014 Professional and business services firms are currently snapping up new staff at the fastest pace in at least 16 years, with slower growth in the sector failing to stem a wave of hiring. According to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) this morning, more business and professional services firms are reporting that they are recruiting [...]
Fears of threat to UK house prices from shale gas fracking rejected by government August 25, 2014 The government has stuck to its guns over fracking despite claims that the practice could be damaging to property values. The Department of Energy & Climate Change (Decc), led by minister Ed Davey, told City A.M. shale exploration would have no impact on house prices, despite suggestions homes near drilling sites could be put into [...]