July Budget 2015: Shares dive for green energy firms as Osborne scraps tax exemption July 8, 2015 In today's Budget, chancellor George Osborne announced that the government is scrapping a green tax exemption enjoyed by renewable energy companies since 2001. Read more: George Osborne cuts corporation tax and bank levy as he tells firms "Britain is open for business" Currently, tax is not paid on renewable electricity supplied to businesses under renewable [...]
Microsft cuts thousands more jobs and takes $7.6bn writedown on Nokia phone business acquisition July 8, 2015 Microsoft chief Satya Nadella has made another round of job cuts as the business took a multi-billion dollar writedown on its purchase of Nokia. The struggling PC business will lay off 7,800 staff, the majority of whom work in the phone side of the business. It will also take a writedown of $7.6bn on the Nokia [...]
Are entrepreneurs born rather than made? This study hints risk-taking behaviour is beyond our control July 8, 2015 Some stray enough to the edge to create a successful business – while others fall off the edge. But whatever you think of risk-takers, it turns out taking a less-than-cautious approach to life may actually be genetic. Read more: Cultivating London's next generation of tech entrepreneurs Risk-taking, one of the most widely recognised qualities [...]
Why do women live longer than men? Lower risk of heart disease is the number one reason July 7, 2015 Across the world, women consistently live longer than men. In the UK, the most recent figures place their average life expectancies at 82.5 and 79.5, respectively. Read more: The UK's average age has reached an all-time high as population grows at an above-average rate The reason for the difference is not fully understood, but [...]
Good news: Tackling climate change is possible without hindering economic growth July 7, 2015 Unusually, this is a good news story about climate change. Rapidly falling costs for renewable energy mean that clean economic growth may now be “within our reach”, a new report shows. So what does this mean? Stopping global warming and creating a sustainable future may be possible – without hindering economic growth. Up to 96 [...]
Got a weak handshake? You might be ageing faster than you realise July 7, 2015 If you're surprised by how much older some of your school peers look every time you see them, while others tend to look exactly the same, your eyes probably aren't failing you. A new study from Duke University shows how people born within one year of each other age at phenomenally different rates, with [...]
Driverless cars will soon be able to buy and collect your morning coffee July 6, 2015 The future of driverless cars lies not just in hardware allowing passengers to take their hands off the wheel, but also in internet connectivity and the many benefits it can bring. Read more: In Pictures: The evolution of Google’s driverless car One such advantage will be the ability to buy and collect morning coffee [...]
Apple Pay UK launch 14 July: Mobile payments coming to iPhone and Apple Watch imminently July 6, 2015 Apple's expected to launch its mobile payment service, Apple Pay, in the UK as soon as next week in its first mobile payment move beyond the US. iPhone users will be able to pay with just the tap of a smartphone, or Apple Watch, across the high street and on the London Underground from 14 [...]
Rosetta comet landing mission: Scientists think they’re on the brink of discovering alien life July 6, 2015 The Rosetta comet could be covered in tiny alien life forms, scientists involved in the European Space Agency's comet-landing mission reckon. Read more: Hope for the Rosetta comet-landing mission: Philae wakes up and sends signal to earth, European Space Agency says Professor Chandra Wickramasinghe and Dr Max Wallis from the University of Cardiff believe [...]
Facegloria: Brazilian Evangelicals launch “sin-free” version of Facebook July 6, 2015 If you are tired of bikini pictures and swearing filling up your Facebook news feed there’s a new option out there. Brazilian Evangelicals have launched what they are calling a "sin-free" version of the social network, called Facegloria. Here, you click “amen”, not “like”, and gospel music plays as you chat. The new site bans [...]