Blog post criticising former Merrill Lynch boss is “forgotten” by Google July 2, 2014 This morning, BBC journalist Robert Peston received a “notice of removal” from Google, informing him that an article he had published in 2007 about former Merrill Lynch boss Stan O'Neal would no longer be shown in European Google search results. Titled “Merrill's Mess”, the piece describes how O'Neal was forced to leave the investment bank [...]
Is this the most secure smartphone in the world? July 2, 2014 The answer that question is: probably. The Blackphone has been designed first and foremost to protect the owner's privacy as data security becomes increasingly important to consumers amid NSA spying revelations and data hacking concerns. Priced at $629, the smartphone runs ProvatOS, an Android-based operating system and has features which optimises the phone's security. These include a [...]
Dust clouds, star trails and meteor races: Astronomy Photographer of the Year award shortlist July 2, 2014 The Royal Observatory has revealed its shortlist of candidates for the 2014 Astronomy Photographer of the Year award. The selected photographs are not limited to celestial sights on our planet: they also include images from across our Solar System, galaxy and even further afield. From a rare daytime scene of Jupiter moments before its astronomical [...]
Rise in London house prices leads to increased affairs, says report July 2, 2014 Research has suggested that more couples than ever are being forced to continue living together even after they have split up, leading to an increase in affairs. A survey by the UK's largest and longest running dating site for married people, IllicitEncounters.com, has shown that over 42,000 married couples living in London have been put [...]
Job openings rise by 25 pc, but salaries stagnant July 2, 2014 The last six months may have seen a significant rise in the number of jobs created, if figures from job site Reed are anything to go by. Reed is reporting a 25 per cent year-on-year rise in the number of vacancies across its platform in the six months to 30 June. The increase in jobs [...]
First Direct makes high street debut July 2, 2014 The bank known for eschewing branches is making its first foray into a physical presence on the high street. After 25 years with online and telephone-only services, First Direct will appear in real life for the first time at 12 station locations including Clapham, Raynes Park and Vauxhall with branded cash machines. First Direct says the [...]
Unite urges Miliband to offer EU referendum July 2, 2014 The Unite union has called on the Labour party to offer an In-out referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union. The for a vote on EU membership from Labour's biggest union backer will not come as welcome news to Ed Miliband, who has ruled out the possibility of an EU vote unless there is [...]
Scottish independence will work as currency competition laboratory – Australian central bank staffer July 2, 2014 If the Scots vote for independence this September, the country could be a testing ground for currency competition, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia's assistant governor, Guy Debelle. But Debelle cautioned today that private issuance of competing currencies in Scotland has been tried before, and while it worked well for a spell, was [...]
Mike Ashley finally lands bonus after shareholder backlash July 2, 2014 Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has been awarded a bonus after 60 per cent of shareholders approved plans to let Mr Ashley share in a bonus scheme of up to £200m between the retailer's employees and management. However, 40 per cent of shareholders opposed the move, which was the company's third attempt in two years [...]
Journalists beware: Financial news could soon be written by robots July 2, 2014 Are earnings reports so mundane that a robot can be trusted to produce them? The Associated Press thinks so. The news service will soon entrust reports on earnings and some other business stories to an automated system so it can better resource more in-depth business coverage. The AP expects to produce more than 4,000 reports [...]