Theresa May’s survival as Prime Minister will leave an impact long after Brexit December 18, 2018 Nothing has changed. That was the widely held conclusion from Theresa May surviving her no confidence vote last week. The Prime Minister has kicked the can down the road on putting her proposed withdrawal agreement to parliament. But parliamentary arithmetic is unaltered. Her deal, as it stands, still looks dead on arrival. In the absence of [...]
Food waste will be next year’s moral crisis, just as single-use plastic was this year December 18, 2018 In these turbulent times, there was one villain who stood out in 2018. Plastered all over our TV screens, phones, and newspapers, this particular offender was everywhere. It is destructive, toxic, and impossible to get rid of. I am of course talking about single-use plastic. That said, the response to this growing threat has been [...]
Branson’s Virgin Galactic blasted as ‘dangerous, dead-end tech’ by Aussie astronaut December 18, 2018 Virgin Galactic, the commercial space endeavour led by billionaire Richard Branson, has been rejected by an Australian astronaut as "dangerous" to human space flight. Spaceman Andy Thomas told reporters in Adelaide last night that while he supported what Branson was contributing to satellite technology, he was critical of his goals to take tourists into orbit. [...]
What might happen in 2019? A second referendum, an economic recession, and the political parties will fall apart December 18, 2018 Anyone posing as Mystic Meg in the current environment of political turmoil would either be very brave or a charlatan. In four months’ time, the UK could still be a member of the EU, or will leave in either a chaotic or an orderly manner; with a radically different or the same government; or still [...]
DEBATE: Is the Asos profit warning a sign that online retailers face the same challenges as the high street? December 18, 2018 Is the Asos profit warning a sign that online retailers face the same challenges as the high street? Scott Guthrie, a digital strategy consultant, says YES. Online retailers have previously appeared immune to the hardships faced by their high street rivals. Yet there are many marketplace similarities between the two opposing business models – especially in [...]
UK chipmaker Graphcore gains unicorn status with $200m funding from BMW and Microsoft December 18, 2018 UK artificial intelligence chipmaker Graphcore has raised a $200m (£158.1m) series D funding round from BMW and Microsoft, valuing the firm at $1.7bn. The round brings Graphcore's total amount raised to date to over $300m, with its new investors joining existing backers such as electronics founder Robert Bosch, Dell and Samsung Electronics. The round was led by London venture [...]
EU working ‘non-stop’ to ensure Italy avoids budget sanctions December 18, 2018 EU officials are “working non-stop” to bring an end to the battle over Italy’s controversial budget plan and avoid imposing sanctions. European economic commissioner Pierre Moscovici told France’s RTL radio he had been working day and night to avoid an unprecedented disciplinary process against Italy. Moscovici also said that France’s expected overshoot of the EU’s [...]
UK economy set for slowest growth since 2009 and business investment to decline, BCC warns December 18, 2018 UK economic growth could slow to its lowest level since 2009 over the next two years as business investment and the pound are hit by Brexit uncertainty, according to the British Chambers of Commerce. The group expected business investment to contract by 0.6 per cent in 2018 before growing 0.1 per cent next year. The outlook [...]
Have you got a Scrooge loose at work? December 18, 2018 Festive cheer may be in short supply in the UK’s workplaces this Christmas – and it’s got nothing to do with Brexit, rail fare rises, or miserly pay increases. Instead, it’s the fact that a growing number of employers have cancelled the annual staff party. At one firm, an employee reports receiving an email out [...]
Breaking the current Brexit impasse could land Theresa May in even deeper trouble December 18, 2018 Despite efforts by the Labour party and other political opponents of the government in the House of Commons, it now looks very unlikely that Theresa May will put her Brexit proposal to a parliamentary vote this side of the New Year. But there may still be plenty of public disagreements and political wrangling ahead when [...]