Uber’s battle against taxi industry and regulators steps up a gear with Obama adviser on board August 20, 2014 In Uber’s relentless battle against regulators and the taxi industry around the world, a political strategist was considered a crucial element for negotiating roadblocks in the disruptive taxi service’s plans for world domination. Now the search is over, and Uber has no doubt spent a pretty penny of its billions of dollars of investment (which [...]
Merkel backs Baltic states but rules out combat troops August 19, 2014 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to support the Baltic states against a possible Russian threat but refused to commit to the deployment of ground troops. Speaking in the Latvian capital Riga, Merkel said she supported "enhanced preparations" to deploy NATO forces to the region in case of an imminent threat. She reassured the Latvian [...]
MPs to grill Bank’s Mark Carney on Osborne interest rate pact claim August 18, 2014 Bank of England governor Mark Carney will be quizzed by MPs next month over whether he has faced any political pressure to keep interest rates at their historic low. Carney and chancellor George Osborne have been hit by suggestions this week that they struck a deal to keep rates low until after the election. Mark [...]
Carney must have agreed with Osborne’s interest rate policy to get governor’s post August 18, 2014 Tim Wallace takes a look at the evolving relationship between the Treasury and the Bank of England. Bank of England governor Mark Carney was appointed in November 2012 by George Osborne, in a move which was at the time seen as a masterstroke by the chancellor. Osborne had shown that he was extraordinarily [...]
George Osborne and Mark Carney hit by interest rate stitch-up row August 18, 2014 City MP Mark Field last night questioned the independence of the Bank of England, sensationally suggesting that governor Mark Carney and chancellor George Osborne had made a pact that would ensure interest rates remained at their historic low until next year’s general election. A Treasury source hit back, saying “The idea that there is some [...]
Janet Yellen to give debut speech at Jackson Hole monetary policy forum August 17, 2014 The annual American monetary policy gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming will get underway this week, Janet Yellen’s first as chair of the US Federal Reserve. The events, which begin on Thursday, are centred on the topic of “re-evaluating labour market dynamics” this year. The Federal Reserve chair typically gives a speech on the Friday morning [...]
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway share price reaches $200,000 August 14, 2014 Savers with a spare $200,000 could splash out on a new Bentley Continental GT – or they could buy one share in Warren Buffett’s conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway. The company’s stock roared past the $200,000 milestone last night, reaching as high as $201,114 – or £120,000 – per share. Billionaire Buffett, considered by many to be [...]
Iced-Berg? Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and fellow tech CEOs get soaked August 14, 2014 It's often been said that the Silicon Valley tech scene is overheating, but photos of its best known chief exec dumping buckets of ice water over themselves is nonetheless perplexing. On closer inspection, though, you realise its a new social media “nomination”, not completely dissimilar to the no-makeup selfie, in a bid to raise [...]
London Report: Putin’s Crimea comments help to calm FTSE August 14, 2014 THE FTSE yesterday rose after being bolstered by apparently conciliatory comments from Russian President Vladimir Putin on a visit to Crimea, as well as expectations for a continuation of ultra-loose monetary policy. On a trip to Crimea, the Ukrainian region annexed by Russia in March, Putin said his country would stand up for itself but [...]
Could pee-power be the next energy source? Bill Gates backs scientists using urine to charge phones August 14, 2014 When explorers were filling in the 'here be dragons' gaps on maps and discovering weird and wonderful things like the potato, drinking urine was often resorted to as a means of survival. Now the BioEnergy team at Bristol Robotics Laboratory – a collaboration between the University of Bristol and the University of the West [...]