FTSE 100 Live: City stocks rally after tech sell-off; Iran threatens ‘forceful response’ over Strait of Hormuz
General election 2015: Ann Summers boss Jacqueline Gold joins Conservative campaign, claiming it’s “essential” David Cameron wins January 6, 2015 The so-called queen of the sex shop, Ann Summers boss Jacqueline Gold is throwing her weight behind the Conservatives ahead of this year's general election. Gold appeared on the front row of the press conference held yesterday in which chancellor George Osborne rubbished Labour's spending pledges by claiming they were £20m over budget. [...]
Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket landing: Here’s what you need to know about Friday’s International Space Station mission January 6, 2015 On Friday, SpaceX will attempt to return a rocket to Earth for the first time ever. The Falcon 9 vessel will be launched into space, from where it will release its Dragon cargo spacecraft towards the International Space Station (ISS). It will then change direction and come back down towards Earth. The attempted landing [...]
General Election 2015: Ed Balls hits out at George Osborne’s “dodgy dossier” spending report January 5, 2015 Shadow chancellor Ed Balls yesterday hit back at claims that Labour’s made over £20bn of unfunded spending commitments for 2015-16, accusing George Osborne of publishing a “dodgy dossier, riddled with untruths and errors”. The emotive phrase, coined following the publication of the Iraq war dossier which was later found to contain a string of mistakes [...]
Mark Zuckerberg’s book club: Facebook founder invites people to join his 2015 challenge to read a book every other week January 5, 2015 It’s that time of year again when resolutions are made and many more broken. Those struggling to stick to theirs should be heartened that even the world’s biggest entrepreneur and richest man thinks he needs to do a little self-improvement. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has set himself a challenge of reading a new book every [...]
Francois Hollande tells Greece to keep its promises to stay in the Eurozone January 5, 2015 French President Francois Hollande has sent Greece a word of warning today, telling a French radio station: "The Greeks are free to choose their own destiny. But, having said that, there are certain engagements that have been made and all those must be of course respected". Greece is once again facing political turmoil with Europe's [...]
James Dyson savages Theresa May’s “short-sighted” policy on foreign students January 5, 2015 Theresa May is once again under fire for her plans to force foreign students out of the country when they finish their studies. Inventor and business leader James Dyson, writing in the Guardian, has launched a stinging attack on the plans: May’s immigration plans simply force the nimble minds we nurture to return home and fuel [...]
Euro falls to nine-year low as investors eye ECB policy January 5, 2015 The euro tumbled to a nine-year low against the dollar this morning after the European Central Bank (ECB) hinted quantitative easing could be on the way and disputed reports Germany was preparing for a so-called "Grexit." The common currency slid to $1.1860 in pre-market trade, its lowest level since March 2006. It also pushed the [...]
David Cameron’s absence from Labour spending review launch is a subtle but clever political trap – Bottom Line January 4, 2015 David Cameron’s decision not to attend the launch of a key spending review into Labour’s election pledges this morning speaks volumes about the type of campaign he plans to run. Up until now commentators have predicted that the Tories will use the Prime Minister at every given opportunity, safe in the knowledge that Ed Miliband’s [...]
Tesco braces for era of pain as Dave Lewis restructures group January 4, 2015 Troubled retail giant Tesco is preparing to give investors a poor set of financial results this Thursday – which is likely to include losses in its core supermarket operations. New boss Dave Lewis has warned shareholders that he is willing to take short-term pain for long-term gain. He is not going to reveal any comprehensive [...]
Cameron refuses to rule out coalition with Ukip and Nigel Farage January 4, 2015 Was this morning the time we saw the first tentative, flirting moves towards a Conservative/Ukip coalition? Appearing on the Andrew Marr show Cameron faced questions about an allegiance between the two parties and declined to deny it, whilst also avoiding any overtly negative comments about Nigel Farage’s party. The most negative thing Cameron [...]