Shooting the messenger: Rent controls have always and everywhere ended in failure September 14, 2016 Rent controls are back on the political agenda. Their reintroduction is now official Labour Party policy, and the Conservatives will probably follow with a somewhat milder version in due course. It is easy to see why: according to a recent Survation poll, two thirds of the public support rent controls, with most of the remaining [...]
The Green Belt is standing between young people and the homes they need September 14, 2016 Imagine a race in which the finishing line moved further away, faster than you could run. Rigged against you, no matter how hard you tried, the finish line would always move faster. That’s the housing market in London and the South East for most young people, where the dream of homeownership remains just that, a [...]
With Theresa May expected to give it the green light, is Hinkley Point just a colossal white elephant? September 14, 2016 Ruth Lea, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, says Yes. There is little doubt that we need more electricity generating capacity – and the sooner the better. So the government’s determination to expand capacity is welcome. But Hinkley Point is flawed. Putting aside security fears over Chinese finance behind the proposed EDF nuclear power plant, [...]
Will Yahoo ever be a verb? Exec sets out internet firm’s ambitions after Verizon takeover September 14, 2016 Yahoo is targeting the revenues of TV companies as it seeks success after its takeover by Verizon. “I do think there is opportunity to [take] budget from TV,” the internet firm’s chief revenue officer Lisa Utzschneider said. “As more and more viewers spend less time on TV and more time on their mobile devices, those [...]
We need to change perceptions of apprenticeships – especially for entry into professional jobs September 14, 2016 Barely weeks after the drama of A-level results, new university students can probably be forgiven for not interrupting the bacchanalia of Freshers’ Week to think too hard about their future careers. Yet the first term of university and independence can be a tumultuous time, and many bright young students will likely find themselves rethinking their [...]
Oh my god, I can’t believe it: Spotify has 40m paid subscribers, its founder said today September 14, 2016 It seems Spotify founder Daniel Ek has taken a leaf out of Elon Musk's book: the Tesla tycoon is fond of using Twitter to make market-moving musings. And today Ek did just that: 40 is the new 30.Million. 😄 — Daniel Ek (@eldsjal) September 14, 2016 He was, of course, referring to the number of paid [...]
Everyone go home: Gmail for Work is down, with outages reported across the UK September 14, 2016 It's 5pm on one of the hottest days of the year – so Google has helpfully made sure you have to go home, with users reporting outages on Gmail for Work. Down Detector showed a spike in reports of outages, with a live map showing problems across the East and West coasts of the US, as well [...]
Sadiq Khan has vowed to push ahead with a housing plan his critics call “unrealistic” and “needlessly complex” September 14, 2016 Sadiq Khan has defended plans to sell off Transport for London land at reduced rates, claiming the approach “does right by London”, despite claims the plans are “unrealistic” and “needlessly complex”. Khan is set to press ahead with the sale of one patch of land at Kidbrooke in Greenwich, despite warnings his affordable housing requirements [...]
Greek debt crisis: Fresh drama looms as cabinet minister attacks International Monetary Fund September 14, 2016 Greece has struck out at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the ongoing argument over the country's debt crisis continues to simmer. The country's employment minister, George Katrougalos, warned the Fund today it would no longer tolerate its "extreme" calls for reforms to the minimum wage, pensions and collective bargaining rules. The IMF is one leg of the [...]
Now you can get Twitter on your TV screen September 14, 2016 Twitter may have helped create the idea of the second screen, as fans tweeted along to their favourite TV shows from their phones, but now the troubled social network wants to be centre stage on the main screen. It has signed a new deal with Apple, Amazon and Microsoft to appear on their TV services as it expands [...]