Thomas Piketty rejects France’s Legion of Honour award January 1, 2015 France's rock star economist Thomas Piketty has turned down France's highest state honour because, in his view, it is not the role of the government to dispense these kinds of awards. The economist made waves in 2014 and topped the Amazon bestseller list with his book Capital in the 21st Century, which postulated that inequality [...]
New year’s resolutions to make you think more like Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg December 31, 2014 As if running a $221bn (£142bn) company isn't enough, Mark Zuckerberg is known for his commitment to keeping new year's resolutions. Every year, the Facebook founder sets himself a new challenge – a process which, he told an audience last week, forces him to "do other things outside of [work]". But Zuckerberg doesn't just go for [...]
ECB official Peter Praet hints at quantitative easing amid falling oil prices December 31, 2014 The European Central Bank's (ECB) chief economist has hinted quantitative easing could be on the way, as plunging oil prices threaten to derail price expectations in the embattled eurozone. Peter Praet told German Newspaper Boersen-Zeitung the glut in global oil supply meant inflation rates were likely to remain negative throughout "a substantial part of 2015", something [...]
Stuart Hosie say SNP and Labour alliance would be a positive step if it stops David Cameron coming into power again December 29, 2014 The Scottish National Party (SNP) has argued that it would not find it difficult to maintain a UK government without the presence of the Conservative Party – England’s largest political party. In doing so, it has dismissed claims that the party would encounter difficulties if such a situation arose in the future. The comments follow [...]
Forex price fixers may face jail under George Osborne’s new plans December 22, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne yesterday confirmed the government would make price-fixing in foreign exchange markets a criminal offence in 2015. It is part of a larger plan that extends the rules put in place to regulate Libor – a rate at which banks lend to each other – to several other financial market benchmarks. [...]
UK immigration: Theresa May plans to kick out foreign graduates December 22, 2014 New foreign graduates could be booted out of the UK after they finish university, if new measures proposed by the Home Office are passed. Theresa May, the home secretary, said that she would like zero net student migration if the Conservatives remain in power after the 2015 general election. The move may be seen by [...]
Theresa May slammed over anti-migration plot to kick foreign graduates out of UK December 22, 2014 Business groups and politicians expressed dismay yesterday at plans by home secretary Theresa May to force foreign students to leave the UK before re-applying for work visas. May wants the Conservatives to include the measure in their party manifesto ahead of the general election next year. Current coalition partners the Liberal Democrats sought to [...]
Bailey and the jets: Burberry boss attends Elton’s wedding December 22, 2014 CHRIS Bailey, the Burberry chief executive, was a guest at Elton John’s wedding yesterday to long-term partner David Furnish. Bailey, who went to the event in Windsor with his partner, the actor Simon Woods, joined a sparkling guest-list that included the Beckhams, David Walliams, Elizabeth Hurley and Evening Standard owner Evgeny Lebedev. Romeo Beckham recently [...]
Did North Korea hack into Sony Pictures? Obama considers putting Pyongyang back on terror list following release of private emails and film script December 21, 2014 In 2008, the White House took North Korea off its terrorism watch list when Pyongyang agreed to a full verification of its nuclear sites. Until that point, the country's covert attitude had led to suspicion in the West that the sites were being used to develop nuclear weapons. But now the US is considering reversing [...]
Ukip and Nigel Farage’s popularity drops in new poll as Labour enjoys surge December 21, 2014 After accusations of snobbery and a woeful conference season, there is finally some good news for Labour. In a new poll by Opinium for the Observer, Labour’s lead over the Conservatives came out at a healthy seven per cent. This lead, should it be translated into seats in the general election, could mean Labour secures [...]