Cameron’s ‘non’ to popularity-boosting affair and why Miliband’s cost of living crisis could come unstuck January 14, 2014 It was a lively lobby briefing for journalists in Westminster this morning, with the PM’s spokesman (who just happens to be of French descent) being pressed on whether David Cameron might consider having an affair in order to boost his popularity ratings. Unsurprisingly the answer was a very diplomatic “non,” which sent tittering journalists off [...]
US retail sales thump estimates in December January 14, 2014 A nice strong beat for the US economy. Retail sales grew by 0.2 per cent in the US this December, while economists had only expected growth of 0.1 per cent. Some bad news in revisions to earlier data however. November's growth has been knocked down from 0.7 per cent to 0.4 per cent. And traditional [...]
Drones take to the North Sea in search of oil January 14, 2014 Drones are to be the latest tools in the hunt for new reserves of North Sea oil. Academics at the University of Aberdeen are working in collaboration with a group from the University of Bergen, to use the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to examine rock formations and improve the understanding of subsurface reservoirs. The latest [...]
MPs stand up for British institutions after French Embassy slurs January 14, 2014 Last week, City A.M. editor Allister Heath wrote this piece: France’s failed socialist experiment is turning into a tragedy In response, the French Embassy has launched something of an (un)diplomatic rejoinder: 10 accounts on which City A.M. has got it wrong on France The embassy has levelled that France has a better health service, roads, [...]
Does Nest reveal Google’s robotic ambitions? January 14, 2014 Over the past year Google has been acquiring nearly a dozen technology hardware firms – of its 20 total acquisitions – firms that make everything from airborne wind turbines to robotic dogs. While many of these companies are working on crazy projects that could take decades, if ever, to reach the market, they all point [...]
Race for EU Commission president heats up as Barnier prepares to run January 14, 2014 France's Michel Barnier says he is prepared to run for president of the European Commission. Mr Barnier currently serves as the commissioner for the internal markets and services and has been heavily involved in the designs for a European banking union, in an attempt to restore confidence in the Eurozone economy. Prior to an official [...]
Barclays names Shell as its top pick for 2014 January 14, 2014 Barclays has given Royal Dutch Shell’s new chief executive Ben Van Beurden the ultimate vote of confidence by declaring today that the oil major is its top pick for 2014. Low-profile internal candidate Van Beurden replaced Peter Voser at the start of the year, surprising some investors who had expected finance chief Simon Henry to [...]
One year on and Europe is still finding horsemeat where it shouldn’t be January 14, 2014 It is exactly a year since horsemeat was first discovered in processed beef product sold by a several of Britain’s leading supermarkets, throwing the spotlight on the food industry’s supply chain in UK and in Europe. Overall in the UK less than 0.3 per cent of products tested positive for horsemeat above the UK Food [...]
The graph that shows how bad Eurozone unemployment really is January 14, 2014 Over 2013, unemployment stayed stubbornly high across most economies, and despite improving figures, unemployment rates are still well above pre-crisis levels. Figures from the OECD have shown that, across the 34 member countries, the unemployment rate fell to 7.8 per cent last November. When it came to the euro area, 47.1m people were unemployed in [...]
Government immigration cap would see debt to GDP rise to 120pc by 2062 January 14, 2014 The OBR has crunched the numbers to see what happens to the national debt at varying rates of immigration. If the UK sees net inward immigration of 140,000 per year the national debt hits 100 per cent of GDP in 50 years' time. At zero it hits 140 per cent. The reason migrants help the [...]