The shale gas revolution is even bigger than we thought. Here’s why December 17, 2013 US crude oil production will climb to near historic highs by 2016, according to the Energy Information Agency (EIA). This surge in production is being driven by America's shale revolution. The exploitation of shale oil will increase production by 800,000 barrels per day (bpd) until 2016 when production is expected to hit 9.5m bpd. This [...]
Supermarket shares slide as customers move to discounters December 17, 2013 More than half of us shopped at Aldi or Lidl in the last 12 weeks for the first time, according to Kantar Worldpanel data. That's seen more premium supermarkets take a hit – Sainsbury's are down by over 2.8 per cent, Tesco by nearly 1.5 per cent, and Morrison has seen a fall of 1.4 [...]
Downing Street adviser wants tighter oversight of this key Chinese tech firm December 17, 2013 The national security adviser has published a report encouraging tighter oversight at the Huawei Cyber Security Evaluation Centre (HCSEC), which tests the Chinese telecoms firm’s equipment for vulnerabilities. Huawei’s technology is deeply embedded in the UK’s telecoms infrastructure after a deal in 2005 with BT led to Huawei providing parts of its extensive broadband network, [...]
Marks & Spencer are making all their toys gender neutral by Spring 2014 December 17, 2013 Retailer Marks and Spencer have committed to making all their toys gender neutral by Spring 2014. @stellacreasy Hi Stella, we’ve listened to customer feedback and by Spring next year all of our toys will be gender neutral. Thanks — M&S (@marksandspencer) December 17, 2013 The announcement follows Twitter complaints about their "Boy Stuff Marble [...]
Facebook are about to introduce autoplaying video adverts December 17, 2013 Facebook call it a "new way for marketers to tell stories" – we call it video adverts. When you start scrolling down your newsfeed you're going to have videos autoplay. Facebook says this is a "richer storytelling format". Rather than having to click or tap on the content, videos will begin to play as they [...]
5 facts about UK drinking that may surprise you December 17, 2013 The Office for National Statistics has just released its latest data (2012) on drinking habits in the UK. Here are some illuminating stats: 1. Almost 6 in 10 adults responding to the survey said they'd drunk alcohol in the last week. 2. Drinking levels dropped in Britain during recession. Between 2005 and 2012 the proportion [...]
2 charts that show UK house prices are approaching warp speed December 17, 2013 House prices have hit a fresh record high in the UK, and that may give some fresh cause for concern about the state of Britain's property market. Bank of England governor Mark Carney recently pledged not to allow house prices to reach "warp speed" as they continue to rocket – especially in London. They've risen [...]
Row over tax benefits for Spanish football heats up as Ombudsman slams EU Commission December 17, 2013 European ombudsmen Emily O'Reilly has told the European Commission to stop dithering and come to a decision as to whether to open infringement proceedings against Spain, with regards to alleged unfair tax advantages for Spanish football clubs. A complainant representing investors in other European football clubs has claimed that the Commission's failure to act so [...]
UK inflation is finally near target – falls to November 2009 low December 17, 2013 Bank of England governor Mark Carney will be having a good morning. Inflation in the year to November has come in at 2.1 per cent – a fall from 2.2 per cent last month. Analysts had expected consumer price inflation (CPI) to remain unchanged. That's still above the Bank's two per cent target, but it's [...]
Markets are hooked on one big event December 17, 2013 Markets are still fixated on one big event – The Federal Reserve announcement at 7.00pm tomorrow. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) may decide to start slowing the pace of its asset purchases, as the US economy recovers and the Fed doesn't deem QE as necessary. Investors expect the withdrawal of that support to make [...]