Productivity even more puzzling: UK productivity disappoints – workers are doing less with more April 7, 2016 Britain’s productivity plunged 1.2 per cent in the final quarter of 2015, according to fresh data released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) this morning, adding to concerns about the UK’s so-called “productivity puzzle”. Productivity is a measure of how much economic output is generated for each hour of work and is believed to [...]
Venezuela declares every Friday a holiday as energy crisis bites April 7, 2016 Venezuela has declared that every Friday for the next two months will be a holiday. In a televised speech last night, Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro said: "We'll have long weekends." While your typical workers probably dreams of a four-day working week, more time off for Venezuelans is actually the result of a crippling energy crisis. Read more: Socialism has created [...]
Here’s what the Galaxy S7 has done for Samsung’s profits April 7, 2016 Samsung's flagship Galaxy S7 smartphone is already paying off. The South Korean firm expects a 10 per cent rise in sales for the first three months to March of 6.6 trillion won (£3.9bn), ahead of analyst estimates of around 5.5 trillion won. Revenues meanwhile were up four per cent to 49 trillion won for the same period [...]
Too much austerity is causing slow economic growth, says Thomas Piketty April 7, 2016 Economic growth in developed countries has been slow due to too much austerity, rock-star economist Thomas Piketty has said. He said that there has been an attempt, particularly in the eurozone, to reduce public deficits too fast, which has had a knock on effect on growth. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Piketty said: "When you [...]
Volvo to put local, ordinary civilians in driverless cars in China April 7, 2016 Volvo will put local, ordinary civilians behind the wheels of its driverless cars in China, as it tries to take the danger out of driving by the end of the decade. The Swedish company will test up to 100 such cars on express roads and highways which lead into its many mega cities, company executives told Reuters. While it's [...]
The Green party has ridiculed party leaders including Jeremy Corbyn and David Cameron in London mayoral and assembly elections campaign video April 7, 2016 Leaders of the UK's political parties have been roundly mocked in an election video from the Green party. The parody contrasts the Green party's policies with the political infighting other parties are subject to. The video features a young Boris Johnson riding a tricycle and trading blows with George Osborne and his "long-term lega-monic plan". [...]
Another sign that stamp duty deadline sent buy-to-let investors into a buying frenzy April 7, 2016 More proof George Osborne's stamp duty wizard wheeze served to push up prices in the run-up to the deadline, after new figures showed UK house prices rose by the most in at least a year in March. Halifax's house price index, published this morning, showed prices rose 10.1 per cent in the year to March, [...]
Daimler shareholders are just the wurst: Bust-up breaks out over buffet bratwurst at annual shareholder meeting April 7, 2016 We're going to need more sausages. That's what Daimler's chairman was forced to tell shareholders at the car maker's annual general meeting after a fight broke out between two investors over the sausage selection at lunch. Police had to be called to the buffet bratwurst bust-up "after one man began packing away multiple sausages from the buffet" Bloomberg reports. "A [...]
Wikileaks goes on tweeting bender, accuses everyone from George Soros to the US government of being behind Panama Papers leak April 7, 2016 It's no secret Wikileaks is pretty put out by the fact it wasn't the one to leak the Panama Papers. The organisation, which has been behind some of the biggest whistleblowing data leaks over the past few years, has spent much of the past week making it known how disgruntled it is, with tweets like "WikiLeaks didn't lead [...]
Flybe’s share price plummets after it reports stable passenger numbers but load factor down after Paris terror attacks April 7, 2016 Flybe kept up its passenger volumes and said summer trading is on track, but load factors were hit by terror attacks. The airline also warned it could take a hit on a stronger dollar. The airline's share price dropped over eight per cent on the news. The figures Flybe reported a load factor of 68 per [...]