Eating lunch at your desk could be risking your health, says new report

Both workers and employers are being urged to end Britain's culture of eating lunch al desko to safeguard health.

According to the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (CSP), a lack of activity during your lunch hour can result in ill-health, leading to more time taken off work over the long run.

The study of 2,000 people found that only one in five left the office on their break, while the same number worked straight through lunch.

Almost half of those who did take a break decided to eat at their desk. A super active elite of three per cent spent their free hour working out at the gym.

A large number of employees were found not only to be missing out on fresh air and exercise during their lunch break, but were also turning up earlier or staying later.

30 per cent of those surveyed said they worked more than their contracted hours.

Back and neck pain, as well as more serious ailments such as cancer and heart disease, were named as some of the risks workers could face if they failed to remain active.

"It is in everybody's interests to find ways to tackle the enormous problem of inactivity in the UK and we would encourage people to take responsibility for their own health", said Karen Middleton, chief executive of the CSP.

However, close to a third of workers said they already had access to exercise opportunities, including cut price gym membership, lunchtime running clubs and after-work fitness classes.

The survey was carried out by health insurer Aviva as part of the CSP's annual Work Out at Work Day.

Fuller’s profits jump on strong food sales

Brewer Fuller, Smith & Turner has reported a jump in profit before tax of 10 per cent to £34.1m, for the year ended 29 March.

The company made strong gains from food and accommodation, with like-for-like sales rising in both areas by 10.4 per cent. Revenue climbed six per cent to £288m, while the final dividend was hiked 11 per cent to 9.3p.

Approaching the end of his first year as chief executive, Simon Emeny commented: "I am pleased to report that Fuller's has had another very strong year. As a company, we know our strength is in operating at the premium end of the market and we have a clear vision of where we are going and how we will get there."

Beer company volumes also enjoyed a rise of 10 per cent, with tenanted inns like-for-like profits rising by two per cent.

Looking ahead, the company highlighted the acquisition of three new sites, as well as the addition of its new craft lager Frontier. Fuller's believes it is in a strong position thanks to high quality real estate and premium brands.

The bullish outlook was supported by city brokers Numis : "We are upgrading our forecasts (profit before tax) by 2.5 per cent reflecting 2014 being ahead, a pick-up in expansion and refurbishment activity as well as strong recent trading."

Asian markets cautious ahead of US jobs report

Asian markets swung between gains and losses as investors look ahead to today's US jobs report.

US May non-farm payrolls are expected to show jobs expanded by 218,000 last month, according to a Reuters poll.

Markets were buoyed by the European Central Bank's decision to cut interest rates to head off the risk of deflation. Meanwhile, US stocks closed at record highs, with the Dow and the S&P 500 advancing strongly.

Japanese shares were mixed, with Nissan Motor, Nintendo and Fanuc losing ground. Softbank slid 1.5 per cent after unveiling a humanoid robot named Pepper capable of understanding human emotions.

Chinese markets failed to make gains after reports the People's Bank of China may inject $11.7bn through money market operations.  

Why Bitcoin’s extraordinary price rise is driven by more than speculation

One of the most potent criticisms that has been leveled against the popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin, is that the price is intimately linked with speculation and that there are few fundamental factors driving its extraordinary rise from $5 per Bitcoin in 2011, to $660 today.

Those with a more bullish dispositon on the cryptocurrency counter that there are wide variety of factors playing a role in determining its price.

A new study by Charles University academic, Ladislav Kristoufek, has shone some light on how true the claims of both Bitcoin supporters and detractors are when it comes to what influences its price.

Fortunately for Kristoufek, the complete transparency of Bitcoin transactions on the blockchain and the publication of the total number of Bitcoins in circulation on a daily basis, means the data is far more comprehensive and easier to follow than for conventional currencies, such as the US dollar.

"It is completely unrealistic to know the total amount of the US dollars in the worldwide economy on a daily basis. However, Bitcoin provides such information on daily basis, publicly and freely", said Kristoufek.

Using a technique called wavelet coherence analysis, Kristoufek was able to search for correlations between the price of Bitcoin and the price of other currencies, as well as gold.

Kristoufek finds that while speculation has played an important role in the rising price of Bitcoin, there are fundamental factors that have driven the cryptocurrency to its current price.

The fundamentals cited in the report were "usage in trade, money supply and price level". Furthermore, as the price of Bitcoin rises, incentives are created for users to become miners and gain a profit, impacting the price. However, this effect has significantly lessened, thanks to the increasingly expensive high tech equipment needed to mine Bitcoin.

The areas where speculation has been the principle driver of Bitcoin's price are "during episodes of explosive prices". The interest in the cryptocurrency drives the price up and during steep declines pushes it down.

While Kristoufek's study may give some Bitcoin bears pause for thought, it brings a strong note of scepticism for those who believe Bitcoin can act as a safe haven asset in times of economic stress.

"Apart from the Cypriot crisis, there are no longer-term time intervals where the correlations are both statistically significant and reliable", says Kristoufek.

There were also precious few indicators showing a relationship between Bitcoin and gold price movements. Although chances of Bitcoin acting as a safe haven are not ruled out, Kristoufek concludes “we find no signs of Bitcoin being a safe haven”.

This robot can understand feelings and goes on sale next year

Japanese tech group Softbank has unveiled the world's first robot capable of recognising human emotions.

Named Pepper, the 120cm tall humanoid robot can read into the tone of its owner's voice to understand its temperament. However, Pepper's abilities are not set in stone.

Pepper will use cloud-based AI to gather what Softbank calls "collective wisdom".

The robot will be able to pick up on a host of emotional moments, such as the singing of happy birthday, and send its recording of the moment to the cloud.

With 4,500 Japanese words already mastered, Softbank has plans to make Pepper even more capable as time goes on. Apps can be installed on the robot, upgrading its functionality and intelligence over time.

Pepper is able to communicate through speech and body language and is equipped with mics and proximity sensors. The four mics allow the robot to identify the direction of sound. It also uses infared technology to keep a suitable distance between itself and the human. 

The robot is designed to roll rather than walk, due to the fact that bipeddal robots only have a battery life of between 30 and 60 minutes. Pepper's battery life on the other hand, will last over 12 hours.

The pioneering technology stems from the French robotics company Aldebaran, the very same company that was behind the famed Nao humanoid robot.

Softbank CEO, Bruno Maisonnier, said it was his son who gave him the inspiration for the project. "With Pepper, the future begins today", said Maisonnier. The robot will go on sale in February for just under $2,000. On Friday, prototypes of the robots will be placed at two of their stores, allowing customers to interact with them for the first time.

Wi-Fi in planes set to land in Europe after Inmarsat reveals in-flight plans

Mobile satellite services operator Inmarsat, has announced plans for an integrated telecommunications network to raise air passenger connectivity services across the EU.

European passengers, in the near future, will be able to enjoy an unbroken onboard Wi-Fi service, such as those that have gained popularity in the US. The London-based company confirmed that it was in advanced discussion with British Airways to be a launch customer.

Inmarsat believes the market for in-flight Wi-Fi has exceptional growth potential globally. The success of the Go-go air-to-ground network has already led to American telecoms giant AT&T building a second competing network.

Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat’s CEO commented: “We believe that the same in-flight connectivity opportunity exists in Europe and that, with the support of EU telecoms regulators, Inmarsat can rapidly bring to market unique, high speed aviation passenger connectivity services to meet this market demand on an EU-wide basis. A number of European airlines are aligned with this vision and we are absolutely delighted to announce advanced discussions with British Airways to be a launch customer on our new aviation network.”

In order to achieve this goal, Britain's largest space company confirmed it had placed an order for the new S-band satellite, which is to be named Europasat. The European Commission gave Inmarsat a license for this part of the spectrum back in 2009.

The satellite will be complemented by a fully integrated air-to-ground network across the EU. Inmarsat came to global prominence, in part, because of its role in the search for the Malaysian jet MH370.

Johnson Matthey reports jump in profits as chief executive steps down

On the day its chief executive steps down, chemicals firm Johnson Matthey has reported a surge in profit before tax of 17 per cent to £406.6m, for the year ended 31st March.

Meanwhile, revenue rose four per cent, with sales excluding precious metals jumping 11 per cent to £3bn.

Emission control technologies outperformed the underlying growth rate in many of its markets with both sales and profits seeing strong increases.

An improved product mix in the company's European light duty vehicle catalyst business, growth in Asia and a solid performance in heavy duty diesel catalysts in Europe were the principle contributors to emission control technologies' strong performance.

The FTSE 100 company reported process technologies' sales were up 11 per cent, with a good performance in its oil and gas business.

However, precious metal products' sales were in line with last year, with the division being impacted by lower average precious metal prices. Sales in fine chemicals rose by five per cent.

After ten years at the helm, today sees the retirement of the company's chief executive Neil Carson.

"As I step down today, I am confident that, as a world leading speciality chemicals company, Johnson Matthey is well positioned to deliver long term growth for its shareholders through the creation of value adding sustainable technologies", said Carson.

Asian markets slide before ECB meeting

Asian markets have taken a turn for the worse in anticipation of the European Central Bank's (ECB) meeting later today.

The ECB is expected to cut the primary refinancing rate to 0.1 per cent and commence a host of stimulus measures, according to survey of economists conducted by Reuters.

More good news on the US recovery gave a boost to Wall Street, with the Federal Reserve's Beige book finding growth increasing in all 12 of the Fed's districts.

The US  services sector also grew at the most rapid rate for nine months. Meanwhile, the ISM non-manufacturing index rose in May to 56.3. However, May's ADP report showed saw the creation of 179,000 jobs, well below the estimates of 215,000.

Chinese shares took a hit after data revealed growth in the services sector fell to a four-month low in May. The government remains confident that growth will stay above seven per cent.

Australia also fared poorly after economy posted a trade deficit of $122m in April after economists had forecast a surplus $300m.

Bitcoin Britain: Could London become the capital of cryptocurrencies?

Prospects for Bitcoin in the UK have been boosted over the past week after the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) launched a new fast-track initiative – Project Innovate.

Speaking at the project's launch, FCA chief executive Martin Wheatley said, "positive developments" in financial innovation that improve the lives of consumers should be supported by the country's regulatory environment.

The initiative is one of a series of factors making UK increasingly attractive to cryptocurrency focused businesses. Digital currency news site Coindesk, reporting on the plans, goes so far as to say Britain is currently "one of the most attractive jurisdictions for Bitcoin businesses".

The FCA's latest announcement could be the start of process of providing digital currency businesses with the regulatory certainty many have craved. Regulation, compliance and risk consultant at COINsult, Sian Jones, said the move could solidify the UK's position as one of the world's best digital currency jurisdictions.

As one of the homes of global finance, London is on the cutting edge of industry innovation and development, and cryptocurrencies are no exception. London's Bitcoin meetup is one of the largest to be found anywhere in the world, while a host of other events regularly take place across the country.

Eitan Jankelewitz, a technology lawyer at Sheridans, has observed that the UK's the regulatory climate has been relatively benign, with the FCA saying that it does not and has no intention of regulating Bitcoin. As such, there is no obligation for Bitcoin businesses to register with the FCA.

These businesses essentially regulate themselves, using their own initiative to figure out how best to treat consumers. The approach could not be more different to that of China, which has cracked down hard on the world's favorite cryptocurrency.

Furthermore, there is no formal obligation to take any steps to prevent money laundering through dealings made in Bitcoin.

This is a far cry from the situation that prevails in the US. Despite massive legitimate interest from Silicon Valley whiz kids and multi-million dollar venture capitalists, US Bitcoin businesses must comply with anti-money laundering regulations on both the Federal and State levels.

Many UK Bitcoin businesses independently try to identify their customers to prevent money laundering. In March, Bitcoin bugs in the UK received further good news, this time on the tax front. HM Revenue and Customs decided it would not levy 20 per cent VAT on the mining of Bitcoin.

HMRC said Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were exempt "because they fall within the definition of 'transactions, including negotiation, concerning deposit and current accounts, payments, transfers, debts, cheques and other negotiable instruments."

The UK Digital Currency Association hailed the new guidelines as "some of the most sophisticated and forward-thinking issued by tax authorities anywhere in the world."

The move gave further legitimacy to digital currencies and it was even suggested it could lead to a "gold rush of digital currency businesses to the UK".

However, the FCA has not yet made its official position on cryptocurrency clear, and it remains to be seen where Project Innovate will go in terms of regulation.

There also remains a final challenge for Britain to establish itself as the world's center for digital currency businesses – banking.

Speaking to Coindesk, Jones said "If Britain's banks would only open their doors to Bitcoin businesses or a Fidor-like challenger bank were to emerge in the UK, that really would be something".

Many will be watching closely as London hosts CoinSummit, a two day conference connecting entrepreneurs, investors and hedge fund proffessionals seeking to network the world of virtual currency.

As many of world's governments seek new ways to control and manage cryptocurrencies, the UK could be putting itself in the position of being the attractive, low risk, low regulation environment Bitcoin businesses are seeking.

Ofcom set to slash mobile charges

Telecoms regulator Ofcom has set out plans to cut the wholesale cost of connecting mobile phones.

Charges from operators for connecting calls to a different network – known as "mobile termination rates" – will fall thanks to a new charge control proposed today.

The new regulation would see termination rates fall to less than half a penny per minute by April 2017 in real terms.

Ofcom's concluded its previous review of the market for mobile termination rates in 2011, imposing a control on the rates charged by the four biggest operators.

Since that point, industry rates have dropped 80 per cent, 4p per minute (ppm) to 0.8ppm. Ofcom say the mobile market has changed significantly since its last review. The amount of spectrum available to provide mobile services has risen dramatically, following the release of the auctioned 4G spectrum in 2013.

The four biggest mobile operators have all launched competing 4G networks. At present, the networks are used for high-speed mocile broadband, but operators are expected to start using them for voice calls.