Rise of sex robots: Prepare yourself for the inevitable September 23, 2015 Who’s the sexiest robot you know? Obviously the answer is C-3PO. But think harder. Is there a robot in the world that you could fall in love with? Could you bring a replicant home to meet your parents? What about the robot that runs around screaming “danger Will Robinson”, could he support your family? The [...]
Review: Destiny The Taken King September 23, 2015 Destiny: The Taken King Rating: ★★★★☆ Destiny, the space-based multiplayer shooter that’s acted as a digital narcotic to 20m feverish players, has been easier to cut down on in recent weeks. Most committed Guardians – as players are known – finished the last expansion pack, House of Wolves, months ago, leaving them with the same handful [...]
Game review: FIFA 16 September 23, 2015 EA’s annual FIFA games tend to come in two flavours: the important milestones that introduce a wealth of new gameplay mechanics, and the routine ones that simply tweak a few things here and there and mainly exist to keep the yearly tradition going. FIFA 16 falls squarely in the latter category. On the pitch, not [...]
Blow for George Osborne’s deficit plans as public borrowing climbs in August September 23, 2015 Government borrowing jumped in August, ending a positive run of results for chancellor George Osborne this year. Public sector borrowing excluding state-owned banks was £12.1bn in August, up £1.4bn on the same month last year, according to figures released this morning by the Office for National Statistics. This was the biggest August deficit since 2012. Despite the rise, [...]
EU referendum: Cameron will have “lost his marbles” if he forces pro-EU line on cabinet, says senior Conservative MP Crispin Blunt September 23, 2015 A senior Conservative MP has warned that David Cameron would have "lost his marbles" if he does not let ministers campaign with their conscience. Foreign Affairs Select Committee chairman Crispin Blunt said Prime Minister must not restrict ministers from campaigning for Brexit, despite Cameron's personal belief that the UK should stay in the European Union. Speaking [...]
Hedge fund Marshall Wace lends support to Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s economic policy People’s QE September 23, 2015 One of Britain's wealthiest hedge fund managers has leant weight to what's arguably the cornerstone of new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's economic policies – so-called People's QE. People's QE would involve the Bank of England (BoE) investing "in large-scale housing, energy, transport and digital projects". But critics, including Bank of England governor Mark Carney, have [...]
The UK is superbly placed for the scaleup challenge September 23, 2015 UK entrepreneurs have never had it so good. We have a favourable tax regime, stable political system and a culture of innovation. And we’ve come a long way in 30 years, with a litany of success stories inspiring this enterprising generation of young entrepreneurs. There will always be risks on the horizon – as the [...]
To tackle the UK’s cybercrime problem, we need to address the recruitment problem: Cyber security isn’t just for geeks in darkened rooms September 23, 2015 Yesterday it was revealed that some 15 per cent of businesses have faced a cyber attack in the past year, with the EU taking the worst of the £200bn a year global hit. With such a phenomenal amount of money at stake each year, how can businesses help to slash these figures in the future? [...]
Lobbying scandals undermine our democracy – It is time for politicians and lobbyists to wake up to the problem September 23, 2015 Lobbying is an essential part of our democracy. But lobbying abuses undermine our democracy. And lobbying scandals occur with alarming frequency. This is neither a small problem nor a myth: The process of lobbying can be abused by those looking to further private interests, and the decisions which govern our lives and the business environment [...]
EU migrant crisis: European ministers approve relocation plan for 120,000 migrants September 23, 2015 European home affairs ministers have agreed to relocate 120,000 refugees from Greece, Italy and other member states affected by the refugee crisis, despite objections from a number of member states. Ministers met an emergency meeting today to discuss the plan after it was approved by European Parliament last week. The scheme had attracted criticism from [...]