Champagne maker Taittinger buys Kent vineyard to make British sparkling wine December 9, 2015 Renowned Champagne maker Taittinger has added some fizz to the British wine business with a major investment, snapping up land in Kent to produce sparkling wine. Along with fellow unnamed investors, Taittinger has bought 40 hectares of farmland to grow Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, a "multi-million pound" investment over the next decade, it said. The vineyards will [...]
Brazil’s inflation hits 12-year high as food prices climb December 9, 2015 Brazil’s annual inflation rose to 10.5 per cent for November, marking a 12-year high on the back of a spike in food prices and the rising cost of electricity. This higher-than-expected figure for consumer prices marks an increase from October, when the country's inflation stood at 9.9 per cent, and September, when it was 9.5 per cent. Brazil's [...]
Time Magazine names German Chancellor Angela Merkel as its Person of the Year 2015 December 9, 2015 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been named Person of the Year for 2015 by Time Magazine. Time said there had been four points during the year in which questionmarks were raised over the future of Europe: the Greek debt crisis; Russian President Vladimir Putin's "creeping theft of Ukrain"; the migrant and refugee crisis that challenged the principle of open borders [...]
Three ways Tech City can help close the gender gap in 2016 December 9, 2015 The UK tech industry is a shining example of all that is good about British business in the 21st century: lean and hungry companies full of smart, hard-working people geared up for success. But when it comes to gender equality, tech is failing to move with the times. While the number of women founding businesses [...]
Yahoo share price rises after confirming it won’t spin off Alibaba stake December 9, 2015 Yahoo has performed a u-turn on its plans to spin off a lucrative stake in Chinese giant Alibaba, confirming speculation following a meeting of chief executive Marissa Mayer and the company board. "After careful review and consideration of how to best drive long-term value for shareholders, [the board] has unanimously decided to suspend work on the pending [...]
Goldman Sachs leads $45m investment in travel website startup GoEuro December 9, 2015 Goldman Sachs is among several investors to plough millions into a travel website which compares plane, train, bus and car rental across Europe. The $45m (£30m) series B investment round for three-year-old Berlin-founded startup GoEuro was lead by the Goldman's Investment Partners arm, with further cash coming from venture capital firms and entrepreneurs. That includes London headquartered Atomico, Russian billionaire Yuri [...]
PMQs today: Labour backbenchers laugh as shadow business secretary Angela Eagle asks chancellor George Osborne, “How’s it all going?” December 9, 2015 Angela Eagle pulled no punches in her first appearance in place of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) today. The shadow business secretary, who also holds the title of shadow first secretary of state, took a swipe at the government's renegotiation efforts with Europe when she stood in for Corbyn. "How's it all [...]
How banks can defeat tomorrow’s cyber villains today December 9, 2015 If a bunch of crooks in masks were picking their way into your bank vault most days, would you wait another couple of years before considering a new kind of lock? The threat to our banks from cyber crime intensifies every month. Yet the UK banking sector continues as if firewalls, email scanning and web controls are all [...]
Bitcoin price surges after Craig Wright supposedly identified as anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto December 9, 2015 Bitcoin’s on the move again, with the cryptocurrency spiking $16.50 over a 15-minute period following reports that the true identity of its mysterious creator had been uncovered. The digital currency is currently trading at $415 and is moving up. But experts are split on whether the potential unmasking of anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto is the [...]
Hyperloop: Elon Musk’s crazy transport system just came a step closer to its 2020 launch goal as it’s about to be tested in Nevada December 9, 2015 Hyperloop, the ambitious (some may say crazy) project to build a high speed transport system that would shoot people from A to B in pods travelling almost at the speed of sound, will begin testing its technology as soon as spring 2016. The brainchild of Tesla and Space X entrepreneur Elon Musk, work will begin on testing [...]