New York Report: Wall St slides on Fed fears December 11, 2013 US stocks posted their largest drop in a month yesterday as traders locked in recent gains after a provisional budget deal out of Washington removed one of the near-term reasons for the Fed to keep up its current pace of economic stimulus. The bipartisan budget agreement reached late Tuesday would end three years of political [...]
Geek Speak: Hands-on review: the Xbox One December 11, 2013 Microsoft’s new console is under fire from Sony’s PS4 – we put it through its paces XBOX ONE Microsoft | £429.99 Four Stars THE console wars are well and truly underway, with all three big players – Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo – having released their next-generation machines. Here is the lowdown on Microsoft’s latest device. [...]
Our pick of the launch-day titles December 11, 2013 Forza 5 The sixth title in the Forza Motorsport franchise has been released exclusively for Xbox One. It uses the new graphics engine to create a highly-realistic driving experience. Forza 4’s world tour tracks are replaced with levels divided into categories such as compact sports cars and track toys. Dead Rising 3 Dead Rising is [...]
This one chart shows how we’re drastically better off than in 1970 December 11, 2013 The washing machine is one of the many unsung heroes of economic growth – the benefits of which many of us would not want to live without. That's why the chart below is fantastic news. The ownership of washing machines in the UK from 1970 to now has skyrocketed. This data, from the Office [...]
Pictures: London shrouded in fog December 11, 2013 HMS Belfast & Tower Bridge (Laura Lean/City A.M.) The Shard & London Bridge (Laura Lean/City A.M.) Southwark Bridge (Laura Lean/City A.M.)
Markets aren’t buying what Carney’s selling, here’s why December 11, 2013 UK markets continue to believe that interest rates will rise in mid-2015 despite dovish noises from the Monetary policy Committee MPC, according to Capital Economics. MPC members have repeatedly tried to signal that if unemployment falls to seven per cent this will not automatically trigger a rise in interest rates. Overnight index swap (OIS) rates [...]
Here’s how we’re changing our spending habits in post-crisis Britain December 11, 2013 (ONS) Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that households spent an average £489 per week last year. They also show where we scrimped and splurged compared to pre-recession 2006, when average spend was £526.40. (All 2006 and other pre-2012 figures are adjusted for inflation.) Here are some interesting changes: Housing, fuel, [...]
Meet Air Passenger Duty’s number one enemy December 11, 2013 The chief executive of Virgin Atlantic has condemned the UK's punishingly high level of Air Passenger Duty (APD). In a film made for the BBC's Daily Politics programme, Craig Kreeger said the UK government took aviation "for granted in a way that no other government in the world does." Kreeger, 53, is a veteran of [...]
Mining shares are crashing on this Australian update December 11, 2013 An update from Australia's third biggest copper producer, Oz Minerals, has investors panicked. Last night the company announced a disappointing results, alongisde a poor outlook for its flagship mine, Prominent Hill (pictured). Societe Generale's Sebastien Galy says that this indicates over capacity, and that "such over capacity exists also on the transformation side also in [...]
This graph is really depressing if you’re 30 or under December 11, 2013 One in three babies born this year could live to see 100, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Over the last 30 years (1982 to 2012 – the period the ONS was looking at) life expectancy at birth has risen by around eight years for males and six years for [...]