Master the art of brinkmanship to run Brexit rings around Barnier February 14, 2018 Michel Barnier invokes a wide range of emotions this side of the Channel. To his credit, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator appears to have a stronger grasp of the insights of game theory than his UK counterparts. Thomas Schelling, the polymath winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, advanced the science of game theory in [...]
Juventus 2, Tottenham Hotspur 2: Mauricio Pochettino applauds maturity of Spurs after fighting back from disastrous start February 13, 2018 Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino applauded the maturity of his side after they recovered from a cataclysmic start to net two potentially priceless away goals in their Champions League last-16 first-leg clash against Juventus. Juventus stormed into a two-goal lead inside nine minutes courtesy of a Gonzalo Higuain double, after which Tottenham settled and clawed their [...]
UKAR shortlists buyers for £5.5bn taxpayer-owned mortgage loans February 13, 2018 Mortgage loans worth £5.5bn taken on by the UK taxpayer during the financial crisis are closer to being bought as a shortlist of fund managers closes in. Potential buyers include Pacific Management (Pimco), investment firm Cerberus Capital Management, hedge fund Och-Ziff, and M&G Prudential, according to Sky News. The list of bidders is understood to [...]
Ofcom’s 5G auction to go ahead after Three’s challenge slapped down February 13, 2018 Telecoms companies are one step closer to bringing 5G to the UK after a legal challenge was slapped down today. Three had attempted to challenge the rules of a spectrum auction which will divvy up airwaves to the big players, but its appeal was rejected. Ofcom is now expected to hold the auction in April, [...]
Sky and BT Sport pay £4.46bn to share Premier League TV rights for 160 games between 2019/20 and 2021/22 February 13, 2018 After years of extraordinary revenue growth, the Premier League has sold its latest package of live TV games to Sky and BT Sport for a reduced per-match rate. The two media giants will pay a combined £4.46bn to televise 160 matches per season, between 2019/20 and 2021/22. Three years ago, Sky and BT Sport paid [...]
The table of two is a restaurateur’s worst nightmare. Our resident chef Mark Hix wants Valentine’s Day diners to team up February 13, 2018 Today, in case you needed a last minute reminder, is Valentine’s Day, the one day of the year on which we are bound by law to exchange flowers, chocolates and those little bears holding love hearts with insufferably twee phrases embroidered on them. Perhaps like me you try to avoid the whole ordeal. Or perhaps, [...]
Winter Olympics 2018: Elise Christie suffers more heartache after British speed-skating ace crashes in 500m final February 13, 2018 Britain’s Elise Christie fought back tears after suffering further heartache at the Winter Olympics in the final of the women’s 500m short-track speed-skating on Tuesday in Pyeongchang. Triple world champion Christie, hoping to heal the scars of three disqualifications at Sochi four years ago, crashed after what she felt had been a push from silver [...]
Blow for Arsenal as striker Alexandre Lacazette ruled out for up to six weeks following knee surgery February 13, 2018 Arsenal have suffered a major blow as they prepare for Thursday’s Europa League clash with Ostersunds FK after striker Alexandre Lacazette was ruled out for up to six weeks following knee surgery. Lacazette, who has scored nine goals for the Gunners this term following his £46.5m summer move from Lyon, underwent the procedure yesterday and [...]
Jos Buttler tells England to “improve fast” after suffering a third straight Twenty20 defeat against New Zealand February 13, 2018 Stand-in England skipper Jos Buttler rued fine margins after his side slumped to their third successive Twenty20 defeat against New Zealand, leaving their chances of reaching the tri-series final in serious doubt. In their previous two defeats to Australia it was England’s batting that failed them, but on this occasion, on a bouncy Wellington pitch, [...]
Maybe it’s time we ditched fintech and Open Banking for something that makes sense to consumers February 13, 2018 No one orders their weekly food shop on Amazon Prime with cries of “oh, I’m just going to do some e-commerce now”. It’s just shopping. Many of us now have a chatbot or app alert that tells us exactly how we’re spending our money – we don’t even have to make the effort to ask. [...]