Sales of £10m-plus London homes drop by a third as George Osborne’s stamp duty tax changes bite February 12, 2016 Sales of London's priciest homes slumped by a third last year as even the wealthiest investors balked at paying the higher rate of stamp duty introduced by George Osborne's tax reforms. The number of super prime properties – those costing £10m or more – fell from 195 in 2014 to 130 last year, down 32 per cent, according to [...]
Brits bought a record number of new cars last year, but what was the best selling colour? February 12, 2016 White was the most popular colour for new cars last year. It was closely followed black and grey, with Brits opting for neutral tones as they smashed the record for new car purchases. The UK’s car manufacturers boomed last year on the back of strong domestic sales – 2015 was their best year for a decade. According [...]
Business groups doubt new equality pay tables February 12, 2016 Leading business groups have questioned the wisdom of new government proposals designed to fix the gender pay gap. The government has today unveiled plans for a national league table to shame employers that are failing to close gaps, as well as forcing up to 8,000 employers to publish how many women and men are in [...]
Shares in Candy Crush’s new owner Activision Blizzard plunge by 16 per cent as revenue miss overshadows Call of Duty success February 11, 2016 Shares in US video games maker Activision Blizzard tumbled by more than 16 per cent in after hours trading, after the company missed revenue and profit expectations in the final quarter of 2015. The firm, which bought Candy Crush creator King Digital in November last year, posted revenue of $2.12bn (£1.46bn) for the fourth quarter of [...]
Evgeny Lebedev considering putting an end to print version of the Independent after sale of the i to Johnston Press February 11, 2016 Evgeny Lebedev, the Russian owner of the Independent and the Independent on Sunday, is considering bringing the titles online only and putting an end to the print versions. The news follows the announcement of the sale of the i, the Independent's spin-off newspaper, to Scottish publisher Johnston Press for £24m. Independent editor Amol Rajan sent [...]
London cabbies not ’app-y over Uber’s offer of commission-free bookings February 11, 2016 London's black cabs have rebuffed private car hire app Uber’s offer of 12 months of commission-free bookings, with only the odd one or two hackney carriages available for hire via the app in the City over the past two days. Attempts by City A.M. to book a black cab through the app were fruitless with hours [...]
Brent crude oil price bounces on Opec rumours February 11, 2016 Having hovered perilously close to $30 per barrel today, Brent crude bounced, after rumours emerged that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) was preparing to "co-operate" on a production cut. Brent crude was up 1.3 per cent, at $31.23 per barrel, in late trading in New York, after the Wall Street Journal suggested that [...]
Letter from Alan Turing explaining the formula to win solitaire sells for $136,000 at auction February 11, 2016 The letter sold for $136,000 at auction (Source: RR Auction) A buyer has paid more than $136,000 (£94,000) for a letter sent by code breaker Alan Turing to his psychologist's daughter, which explains how to win at solitaire (not that solitaire – the board game, with marbles). The letter, sent by Turing to eight-year-old Maria Greenbaum in 1953, was described [...]
Valentine’s Day 2016: City folk and MPs have different approches to Valentine’s gift-giving February 11, 2016 In the run-up to the big day, news reaches us that Londoners are some of the most disorganised romantics out there, but most of us are still better than the politicians. Londoners may be the most generous Valentine’s gift-givers in the country, spending over twice as much on each other than the rest of the UK, [...]
Astonish your kids this half term with Da Vinci’s marvellous machines at the Science Museum February 11, 2016 The Science Museum | ★★★★☆ Leonardo da Vinci’s prodigious output has provided fertile ground for such blockbuster exhibitions as the National Gallery’s comprehensive 2012 survey, and the Queen and British Museum’s showcase of his drawings. The Science Museum’s new show focuses on da Vinci’s engineering, with physical incarnations of the various machines detailed in his many [...]