Barcelona could be booted out of La Liga if Catalonia becomes independent October 7, 2014 Barcelona could be chucked out of La Liga should Catalonia achieve independence from Spain, the president of the Spanish Football League (LFP) warned today. Javier Tebas insisted that current rules would prevent the 22-time Spanish champions, as well as their Catalonian rivals Espanyol, from entering the league if part of an independent Catalonia. [...]
Thames Deckway: Could this floating cycle path on the river solve London’s transport problems? October 7, 2014 A group of architects, entrepreneurs and engineers are proposing to build a cycle path that floats on the river Thames to help solve the capital’s congestion problems. The traffic-free Thames Deckway could stretch from Canary Wharf in the east as far as Battersea in the West, offering cyclists and pedestrians a safer route through the [...]
Glencore rules itself out of Rio Tinto bid for six months October 7, 2014 Glencore has distanced itself from a merger with rival miner Rio Tinto – forgoing the opportunity to make a formal bid for the next six months as a result. Last night Rio Tinto revealed it had firmly rejected an approach from the smaller firm, which would have created a £100bn giant, leapfrogging BHP Billiton [...]
Crisis over for UK – but Eurozone has strong chance of recession, says IMF October 7, 2014 Forget wages rising more slowly than inflation or lagging GDP per capita: the crisis is behind the UK, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Having disagreed with the medicine, the IMF seems now to recognise the current climate as a cure, despite concerns about living standards and spare capacity in the labour market. Things [...]
Where is the best place to shop in the UK? Westfield London tops new retail index October 7, 2014 Where is the best place to go shopping in the country? And where should you avoid? According to a new index, which ranks retail centres by a range of measures including how appropriate the retail mix is to its local customer, Westfield London is the best place in the UK for shopping, with Chelsea [...]
Amazon says it “received no special tax treatment” after EU begins Luxembourg tax arrangement investigation October 7, 2014 Amazon has said it “received no special tax treatment” in response to the European Commission opening an investigation into its tax affairs in Luxembourg. Brussels is examining the online retail giant's arrangements with the Luxembourg government claiming it amounted to illegal state aid in the latest crackdown on companies and countries believed to be negotiating [...]
Liberal Democrats party conference: Delegates back football tax and scorn urge to win October 7, 2014 The Liberal Democrats are languishing at six per cent in the opinion polls with only months to go until the next general election. The party's conference in Glasgow continues to be a relatively low-key affair with few new policy announcements, with most of the public seemingly worn out by the Scottish referendum and the other [...]
HSBC UK director Alan Thomson resigns over banking regulation threat as second exec ‘mulls exit’ October 7, 2014 One of HSBC's UK directors has resigned from his position ahead of new rules that strengthen the hand of regulators to penalised managers of failed banks. City A.M. understands Alan Thomson, a member of the audit and risk committees of HSBC Bank, has tendered his resignation and will leave the board in October. Sky News initially [...]
Who won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics? Japanese trio recognised for invention of blue light LED October 7, 2014 Three Japanese physicists have won the 2014 Nobel Prize for Physics, it was announced this morning. Professors Hiroshi Amano, Isamu Akasaki, and Shuji Nakamura invented the first blue light LED in the early 1990s. They did this by combining green and red LEDs with blue light. The breakthrough was significant because it paved [...]
Ebola outbreak reaches Europe: Four people monitored in Spain October 7, 2014 Last night, it was confirmed that a nurse in Spain had contracted Ebola. She tested positive for the disease after treating a repatriated missionary from Sierra Leone in a Madrid hospital, marking the first case of someone becoming infected with Ebola outside of the African continent. Now, three more people are being monitored [...]