Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox pledges Sky News’ independence as media giant seeks to keep takeover alive February 12, 2018 Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox has said it would keep Sky News independent, as it seeks to smooth the way for its takeover to go ahead. The media giant this afternoon committed to running Sky News for at least five years and would establish a fully independent board for the channel. Fox has been trying [...]
Champions League: Are Premier League clubs on the cusp of a European renaissance? February 12, 2018 The Champions League resumes this week with more English clubs in the knockout stages than ever before. All five Premier League sides who qualified to play in Europe’s elite competition — Manchester United joined last season’s domestic top four by winning the Europa League — cruised through to the last 16 with relative ease. Only [...]
Game Digital’s shares jump on news of e-sports areas in Sports Direct’s stores February 12, 2018 Game Digital’s shares have jumped by 10 per cent this morning after it announced it was opening e-sports areas in Sports Direct’s shops. Sports Direct bought a stake in Game in July last year after the company issued a profit warning. Today, chief financial officer Jon Kempster said the new partnership with Game showed how [...]
Bitcoin price (BTC) is rising back towards $9,000 February 12, 2018 Bitcoin is heading back up towards $9,000 after the cryptocurrency weathered a rough start to the year. The digital currency’s price swung back and forth over the weekend, briefly rising above $9,000 on Saturday before dipping back below $8,000 yesterday morning. At the time of writing, bitcoin’s price was up 8.22 per cent at $8,734.52, [...]
EU member states at odds over “hard line” Brexit stance February 12, 2018 EU member states are increasingly at odds over the “hard line” taken by France, Germany and the Commission over the UK’s future trade deal, it has emerged. Charles Grant, director of the think tank Centre for European Reform, tweeted last night that around 10-to-12 countries had “some concerns” about the approach being taken by the [...]
Government says shared parental leave take-up in the UK could be as low as two per cent February 12, 2018 The government said today that despite around 285,000 couples each year qualifying for shared parental leave, actual take-up could be as low as two per cent. Half of the general public aren’t even aware that the option exists for parents. The announcement came as part of a new drive from the Department for Business, Energy [...]
Government websites have secretly been mining bitcoin in “cryptojacking” of ICO and student loans company with Coinhive February 12, 2018 Government websites in the UK and US, including those belonging to the data regulator and the Student Loans Company, have been secretly commandeered by hackers to mine bitcoin. The website of the Information Commissioner’s Office was among several to be taken offline after a security researcher discovered that malware was being used to illegally mine [...]
Serious Fraud Office slaps Barclays with new charge over Qatar capital raising scandal February 12, 2018 The UK’s fraud watchdog has today hefted a new charge onto Barclays Bank, in relation to an emergency fundraising it conducted in the summer of 2008. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) today charged Barclays with giving “unlawful financial assistance”, after it raised £4.5bn in June 2008 and £7.3bn that October from investors including Qatar Holding [...]
Transport for London (TfL) faces near £1bn operational deficit as revenue raising efforts run into trouble February 12, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) faces a near £1bn operational deficit next year, as it looks to secure new revenue raising options amid a surprise dip in passenger numbers and the loss of government funding. The organisation said in its most recent business plan that it expects a £784m deficit this year, which will then hit [...]
A match made in blockchain? The case for bitmarriage February 12, 2018 “Are you married?” For most people this feels like an obvious question. But despite common acceptance of the definition of marriage, marital status can be highly complex. English marriage law comes from a mix of statutes from the last two centuries, which throw up bizarre lacunae: a marriage in a synagogue is automatically legally valid, [...]