Is this the happiest we’ve been since 2008? April 16, 2014 Economists aren’t great at measuring happiness – or a lack thereof – no matter how hard they work on complex methodologies in a bid to record our levels of contentment. But one of the more simple, and therefore arguably powerful, measures has long been known as the Misery Index. It’s simple – high unemployment and [...]
Top City bankers strip for the Young Vic April 16, 2014 It’s the video they wish we’d never seen, five top City names take part in a fundraising video for the Young Vic theatre which sees them rip open their shirts and sing at the top of their voices. The video was never supposed to be public, it was aired for 400 guests at special screening [...]
Want to improve education for the world’s poorest? Here’s how April 16, 2014 Private schools in developing countries achieve better learning outcomes than their government counterparts, a new government study has found. The Department for International Development’s report looks at schooling in 27 countries from Afghanistan to Nepal, Sierra Leone to Yemen, taking evidence from numerous smaller studies. It found that teaching is considerably better in private schools, [...]
Regulation of ecigarettes will be one of tobacco’s greatest saviours April 16, 2014 Yesterday, Imperial tobacco announced it would be shutting its factories in England and France. The maker of French tobacco favourites such as Gauloises and Gitanes will be moving production to Spain. Declining sales and a hostile regulatory environment have been the dominant story of the tobacco world for the past decade. However, there may still [...]
Households are full of hope now inflation is falling April 16, 2014 Politicians are tiptoeing around the news that wages are growing faster than inflation – nobody wants to be first to say the cost of living crisis is over, after years of soaring prices. But households themselves expect to feel better off over the next year, just in time for the election. People don’t feel better [...]
Is Dogecoin finally starting to cannibalise itself with meme-based crypto conference? April 16, 2014 Finally – the conference Dogecoin investors have been waiting for. The amusingly titled "Dogecon" will be hosted in San Francisco on 25 April, with six hours of panels and keynotes. They'll be bringing together top entrepreneurs, investors, and activists interested in the meme-based cryptocurrency. And it's one that already boasts a range of speakers, including [...]
The real casualties of the supermarket price wars April 16, 2014 The threat posed by the hard discounters on Britain’s big four retailers has been well documented. Tesco’s chief executive Philip Clarke today described his discount rivals as “formidable” as he announced further plans to slash prices beyond the £200m already set aside in February. But new research shows that the biggest unrecognised casualties of the [...]
Why Alibaba’s IPO will be the biggest tech float in history April 16, 2014 Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, is on track to reach a $188bn (£111.9bn) market valuation when it floats on the US stock market in coming weeks and is expected to raise $16bn, making it the biggest technology float in history. The debut, if it reaches IG’s grey market mid-point of trading, will surpass Facebook (which [...]
Larking about in New Covent Garden to promote Dot London April 16, 2014 A gaggle of business leaders including Deborah Meaden, Tech Hub’s Andrew Tibbitts and CEO of London & Partners Gordon Innes braved the chill at the New Covent Garden flower market this morning to bang the drum for Dot London. That's the new internet domain wiring its way to London businesses at the end of [...]
What you need to know before the US open April 16, 2014 US stock futures suggest a higher open for US markets, following European counterparts and after Yahoo’s reporting of earnings that beat estimates. The S&P 500 rose 0.7 per cent yesterday, with earnings from Coca-Cola and Johnson & Johnson outweighing fears around the Ukraine crisis. On the data front, housing starts rose 2.8 per cent last [...]