Five factors behind this week’s Chinese stock turmoil January 8, 2016 Chinese shares had a tumultuous start to the new year with the benchmark CSI 100 index closing down 10 per cent. So what were the main factors behind the turbulence? The slowing Chinese economy China is trying to move away from export-led growth towards a more sustainable, domestic consumption-led economic model. Nevertheless, fears over the pace of its [...]
Moganshan project in pictures: The tree-covered building Heatherwick Studio is planning for Shanghai January 8, 2016 Images of one of what one of Heatherwick Studio's most ambitious projects yet – a 300,000 sq ft tree-covered building in the heart of Shanghai – could look like have been unveiled. Based on a 15-acre site near Shanghai's arts district, the striking Moganshan development is being built by the minds behind the London Routemaster [...]
From star sign to net worth – here’s what makes a billionaire January 8, 2016 Foreign accent, a couple of yachts and probably a secret swimming pool filled with money in their basement: when it comes to the typical billionaire, most of us have a pretty clear idea of what they look like. But new analysis of the last 20 years of Forbes' World's Billionaires list has painted a picture [...]
Croydon Tech City: What 2016 means for the Silicon Valley of South London as it attracts new startups and invests in skills January 8, 2016 As we enter into 2016, this year will be the fourth for the Croydon Tech City project which has grown into a formal organisation and movement of over a thousand entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and software developers. In that time, the borough has experienced a 38 per cent growth in tech, digital and creative startup activity [...]
It’s official: Bitcoin was the top performing currency of 2015 January 8, 2016 Bitcoin is notoriously volatile: so far in its short life, its value has largely been determined by a cycle of hype, followed by panic. But it turns out that despite its wild lurches, the cryptocurrency was the best-performing currency of 2015 – rising 35 per cent against the dollar during the year, according to analysis by The [...]
HMRC is “worse than private companies” as it ranks bottom of list of government and private debt collectors January 8, 2016 Think payday lenders are bad? Meet Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC)… HMRC has been ranked bottom of a list of government departments and private companies when it comes to collecting debt, a new report has warned. A report by Citizens Advice found evidence of poor practice by the government, "including a lack of consideration given to whether people [...]
Blue Inc to shut 60 stores and axe hundreds of jobs under major restructure after subsidiary company enters administration January 8, 2016 Blue Inc, the fast fashion chain once chaired by Stuart Rose, is to shut around 60 stores and axe hundreds of jobs as part of a major restructure to realign the business towards online. The closures, which will reduce the company's store portfolio by more than a quarter to around 180 stores, will result in [...]
Blood on the shop floor as warm weather means high street retailers suffer worst Christmas performance since 2008, BDO says January 8, 2016 Retailers hoping for a last minute Christmas sales rush were bitterly disappointed, as figures suggest it was the worst festive period since 2008. According to BDO’s monthly high street sales tracker, retailers suffered a 5.3 per cent drop in year-on-year sales for December – the worst monthly results in seven years. No retail sub-sector survived unscathed. Sales of [...]
Delays on Piccadilly Line, District Line and London Overground as trio of signal failures hit at Hammersmith, Upminster and Enfield while broken train causes chaos on Southeastern services January 8, 2016 Commuters faced delays on several Tube and train lines this morning, thanks to a trio of signal failures as rush hour started. The entire Piccadilly Line was suffering from severe delays, after a signal failure at Hammersmith disrupted the route. The failure, which occurred early this morning, had originally knocked out the service between Hyde [...]
Chinese shares rise two per cent after day of volatile trading – but end the week 10 per cent down January 8, 2016 Chinese shares closed mixed today, ending a week of volatile trading, following mounting fears over the pace of the country's economic slowdown. After a day of wild swings, China's Shanghai composite index closed up 1.97 per cent at 3,186.41 points. Meanwhile, the Shenzhen composite index ended the day 1.05 per cent higher at 1,978.721 points. The CSI 300 index, tracking [...]