Watch the first footage of TV hit ’24’ filmed in the City February 3, 2014 It's the stuff of dreams. A. The next series of 24 is on its way. B. Part of it has been filmed in London. Film crews were spotted on Cobb Street in Aldgate back on 22 January and now Fox has released the footage, titled "Street Chaos | 24: Live Another Day". Cobb Street, [...]
Every awful emerging market acronym in 1 chart February 3, 2014 Inspired by this chart from the TUC's Duncan Weldon, we've stuck together just 10 of the many popular emerging market acronyms in a single diagram. Hopefully you can now make sense of what often seem to be quite arbitrary categorisations. We think you'll agree that it all looks quite messy, and the takeaway seems to [...]
Parliament spends £32,955 of taxpayer money on designer chairs February 3, 2014 Parliament has splashed out an astonishing £32,955 on chairs. The figure was revealed in response to a freedom of information (FOI) request when curiosity was raised after a new batch of designer chairs made their debut in the Portcullis House Atrium. Parliament responded to this FOI request: I have recently noticed that there are new [...]
EU corruption costs €120bn a year February 3, 2014 The cost of corruption to European Union has reached a staggering €120bn (£99bn), according to the European Commission's first bi-annual anti-corruption report. EU Home Affairs Commissioner Cecilia Malmstroem, who delivered the report, wrote in the Swedish newspaper Goeteborgs-Posten, "The extent of the problem in Europe is breathtaking, although Sweden is among the countries with the [...]
Cosmetic surgeries rose 16pc in Britain last year. Here are the 10 most popular February 3, 2014 Britons are having more plastic surgery. In 2013, 50,122 cosmetic procedures were carried out in the UK, up 16.5 per cent from a year earlier. Figures from The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) show a double digit rise across the board, with liposuction swelling a whopping 41 per cent, boob jobs and face [...]
Here’s how Spanish statisticians are choking SMEs February 3, 2014 The toll of reporting to Spanish statistical agencies is a real threat to small firms, reports Spanish newspaper El Mundo. Reporting requirements are particularly costly for smaller businesses, who find it difficult to file the necessary paperwork, and often have to outsource the work. Businesses that don't comply face fines of €60 ($9) to €30,050 [...]
Regulator issues two interest rate fixing warnings February 3, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has issued two warning notice statements today to individuals who were knowingly involved in the manipulation of interest rate benchmarks. Details of the banks the individuals work at have not been disclosed. The first warning is in relation to an individual working as a submitter at a particular bank who, [...]
Here’s how Goldman is gambling on Russian fitness February 3, 2014 Gym investment is seeing Goldman Sachs raise the bar when it comes to deals it makes in Russia. The bank has upped its investment in an upmarket chain of fitness clubs, World Class, which was founded by a Russian former fencer, reports Reuters. It’s Special Situations Group (SSG) has been bagging modest deals in the [...]
UK manufacturing sees new export orders at February 2011 high February 3, 2014 The UK's manufacturing sector is still roaring – but there are two small pieces of bad news. Markit's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) shows the UK dropping to 56.7 in January. Analysts had expected a fall to 57. And December's headline figure of 57.3 has been revised down slightly, to 57.2. Any number above 50 [...]
Oil majors still cautious over Kurdistan deals February 3, 2014 SOME oil companies are still reticent about tapping into Kurdistan’s plentiful energy resources, despite the regional government unveiling plans to start piping oil to Turkey earlier this month. Kurdistan had been unable to exploit its oil reserves as Baghdad insisted that it retains control over Iraq’s energy resources – but the Kurdish province’s government has [...]