Markit’s service sector survey eases concerns over economic growth December 3, 2015 The UK's service sector grew at a faster rate in November, easing concerns that the economy was slowing after weak figures for construction and manufacturing. Markit's service sector purchasing managers' index – a survey of firms – scored 55.9 for November from 54.9 in October. It is a four-month high and is further above the [...]
Euro rises as European Central Bank boss Mario Draghi is expected to ramp up monetary stimulus programme at the December meeting December 3, 2015 This morning investors are gearing up for a widely anticipated early Christmas present from the European Central Bank (ECB), due later today. The ECB is expected to ramp up its monetary stimulus programme for the embattled Eurozone economy, against a backdrop of persistently low inflation and disappointing lending by banks. There are a number of ways the Bank could [...]
It’s official: Watching lots of TV really does make you stupid December 3, 2015 Sitting in front of the TV for hours on end really does impair your mental ability, according to a new study in the journal JAMA Psychiatry. By studying the link between TV-watching and cognitive functioning in Americans, researchers from the Universities of California and San Francisco found that on average, the more TV people watched, [...]
Here’s what we searched online in 2015 in Britain, according to Bing: Politics, royalty, Rugby World Cup and Star Wars: The Force Awakens December 3, 2015 The General Election, the Labour leadership race and the attacks in Paris are the events of 2015 which occupied our thoughts the most – or our search habits, at least. It was political and world events which dominated the top 10 most searched for news events this year, but royalty also piqued the interest of Britons. The insight into our [...]
Bah, humbug: A quarter of businesses are ditching plans for a Christmas party this year December 3, 2015 It seems the corporate world is suffering from a lack of festive cheer this year, after new research showed a quarter of businesses are planning on ditching their Christmas party. The survey, by the Institute of Leadership and Management (ILM), found 25 per cent of organisations won't throw a party. That sort of behaviour was [...]
Christmas comes early for drivers: Diesel drops to its lowest price in six years in November, as petrol continues to fall December 3, 2015 If you're planning on driving long distances this Christmas, at least it'll be cheaper this year, after data suggested diesel fell to its lowest price since February 2009 in November. The RAC said this morning that the average pump price for diesel fell to 109.48p per litre at the end of November, down from 109.77p [...]
Kentish Town Tube incident: Man arrested for attempted murder after man pushed in front of oncoming train December 3, 2015 A 29-year-old man has been arrested under suspicion of attempted murder, after a man was pushed in front of an oncoming train at Kentish Town Tube station yesterday. The man, from Colindale, London, voluntarily attended a London Police station, after the service issued an image of the person they suspected of being behind the attack. The image [...]
Oscar Pistorius found guilty of Reeva Steenkamp’s murder as manslaughter conviction overturned December 3, 2015 Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of murder after his previous conviction of manslaughter was overturned. The Paralympian "ought to have been convicted, not of culpable homicide, but of murder", judge Leach said this morning. The original ruling was "confusing and flawed", he said. Pistorius killed his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on Valentine's Day 2013, after shooting [...]
French unemployment higher than expectations – and above Eurozone average for the first time since 2007 December 3, 2015 French unemployment has risen to 10.6 per cent in the third quarter – higher than forecast and the first time it has been higher than the Eurozone average since 2007. Unemployment had been expected to come in at 10.4 per cent, but figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) showed worse-than-expected [...]
The biggest Christmas adverts of 2015: From John Lewis’ Man on the Moon and Sainsbury’s Mog the Cat to Justino, Warburtons and Burberry December 3, 2015 John Lewis and Sainsbury’s have tussled over our affections pitting Man against Cat in their bid to create this year’s most heartwarming Christmas advert, with the retail giant's tear-jerker finally beating the supermarket's more upbeat offering. Sainbury’s Christmas advert featuring Mog the Cat was quickly crowned 2015’s winner by City A.M.’s own reviewer, who praised [...]