Addison Lee chief executive slams TfL over Uber’s rapid entry into London taxi market December 23, 2014 Addison Lee's chief executive Liam Griffin has slammed Transport for London (TfL) for allowing Uber such an easy entrance into the London transport market. Speaking to the Evening Standard, Griffin said TfL had "bottled" it and accused the regulator of "letting down" black cab drivers. He argued TfL was failing to enforce rules and regulations [...]
What does 2015 hold in store for cyber crime? BAE releases five predictions for the year ahead December 23, 2014 This year has had more than a few digital crimes committed, ranging from the North Korea Sony hack, which is still playing out, to the iCloud hack known as iBrute, resulting in nude photos of celebrities being published online. But what does 2015 hold in store for digital crime, and how can we protect [...]
How much of an effect did the North Korea DDoS attack actually have? Here’s what we know about internet access in the country December 23, 2014 Reports of a massive, nine-and-a-half hour internet outage after a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack in North Korea – possibly by the US, possibly in revenge for the Sony hack – have raised eyebrows. The country famously censors its internet to the point of uselessness. So just how much of an effect did [...]
Christmas trends: Turkey sales up 163 per cent but wine loses its sparkle December 23, 2014 The economic downturn had many effects on the UK, but it didn’t manage to curb Christmas gluttony. And this isn’t just any gluttony, it’s an increased need for kilograms of fresh, whole turkeys.Last year we spent £38m on Christmas bird, an increase of 163 per cent over 2008’s figure of £14.4m. Even adjusting for inflation, [...]
Sterling has hit a 16-month low agains the US dollar, as the City gives its verdict on today’s data. December 23, 2014 The pound is down almost 0.5%, or 0.7 of a cent, at $1.552, its lowest since September 2013. That’s partly because the dollar is rallying against most currencies; the euro has hit a 28-month low against the greenback. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) today confirmed growth at 0.7 per cent between the second [...]
Destiny gamers have spent collective 100,000 years playing most-expensive game of all time December 23, 2014 Humanity has been walking and populating this earth for around 200,000 years. It has also spent roughly half that time playing Destiny, the video game released last September. According to the game’s developer Bungie, gamers have collectively spent over 872m hours ridding malignant aliens from the solar system in Destiny’s dense universe. That’s equal [...]
Here’s what Londoners really think of hipsters December 23, 2014 London's reputation as a hub of diversity and liberal metropolitanism have long made it attractive prospect for hipsters, so much so that recently Time Out announced it wants to build a 100,000 sq ft "hipster hub" in central London. Hipsters are a relatively recent phenomena in London's social make-up, becoming more noticeable in the last [...]
The four most shocking things that happened in 2014 December 23, 2014 1. THE RUSSIA SAGA (Source: Getty) Russia flexed its muscles at the beginning of the year, taking the opportunity during the uprising in Ukraine to plant pro-Putin flags in the Crimea region, triggering a string of catastrophic events to unfold. And it’s likely we’re far from seeing the final act of this epic Russian novel play [...]
Thorntons’ share price collapses 25 per cent following profit warning December 23, 2014 Chocolate maker Thorntons has ended the year on a disappointing note, warning falling sales will hit the company's earnings for the full year. The company's share price slumped a whopping 25 per cent when the market opened. Thorntons announced its UK Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) division had faced "challenges" that hit sales performance in [...]
Billionaire property baron Thomas Kwok sentenced to five years in prison for corruption December 23, 2014 Hong Kong billionaire and property tycoon Thomas Kwok has been jailed for five years and fined £41,327 after being found guilty of corruption. Kwok, 63, has also been barred from taking a company directorship for five years. Once the co-chairman of the city's largest developer and second-most valuable property company in the world, Sun Kung [...]