These four charts show how much each region contributed to the UK’s economy last year December 10, 2014 George Osborne's dream of creating a “northern powerhouse” might have taken a step closer to coming true. Last year the North West and Wales had the biggest jump in gross value added (GVA) per head out of all the regions in the UK, with both up 3.4 per cent on the previous 12 months. [...]
The rise of the machines? Shape-shifting robot viewers to cost marketers £4bn in fake traffic December 10, 2014 We're pretty used to hearing that robots are going to steal our jobs. But now it turns out that once they've done that, they're going to do exactly what we do anyway: sit around watching online videos. But this is actually a serious problem. Global advertisers stand to lose out on $6.3bn (£4bn) next [...]
What is a weather bomb and will it hit London this week? December 10, 2014 A meteorological phenomenon that has been dubbed a "weather bomb" looks likely to reach London by Friday, according to the Met Office's chief forecaster. But what is it? And how bad will things get? A weather bomb is an aggressive pattern of weather in which the central pressure inside a frontal depressions falls [...]
Denmark Hill train fire “unrelated” to Charing Cross incident, says Southeastern December 5, 2014 Southeastern has said it believes the fire on one of its trains this week is “completely unrelated” to the trackside fire at Charing Cross station 10 days ago. The investigation is ongoing, and expected to conclude soon, but a spokesman told City A.M. that two incidents were not thought to be connected. The [...]
Sony hack: Staff comments reveal how much they hate Adam Sandler – who joins Drew Barrymore, Eddie Murphy, Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise in Forbes’ Most Overpaid Hollywood Actors list 2014 December 5, 2014 Sony Pictures Entertainment employees are really annoyed that Adam Sandler gets paid so much. The media giant was hacked last week and those responsible – rumoured to be working for North Korea, though this has been denied – have dumped a load of information ranging from the pay of some of its stars to [...]
Ukip might be winning the Twitter war, but Tories are still favourites to retain Trumpton December 5, 2014 Trumpton has emerged as the next key political battleground – and it looks set to be another dirty tricks campaign. This week social media has been dominated by representatives from Ukip, Conservatives, Labour, Lib Dems, Greens, Communists and Trumpton First, all vying to be elected into the hotly contested fictional seat. Despite the [...]
Crossrail: These amazing pictures show what is going on under your feet at Liverpool Street, Bond Street, Tottenham Court Road, Whitechapel and Paddington December 5, 2014 From above ground Crossrail is little more than an annoying eyesore you have to navigate around. But as with the Wombles, it's so much better underground, and here are the pictures to prove it. Crossrail under Bond Street Crossrail has today revealed these amazing pictures to show how far through the project it [...]
Oil price drop: How does it affect Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, the US, the UK and the Eurozone? December 5, 2014 The price of Brent crude oil has dropped by around 40 per cent since June, at one point falling to its lowest level in more than four years. It's now stablising at around $70 a barrel, but speculators think it could fall further – perhaps down to $65, maybe even as far as $60 [...]
Bank of England keeps base rate at 0.5 per cent for 69 months in a row December 4, 2014 The Bank of England has voted to keep interest rates at 0.5 per cent for the 69th month in a row. The last time the UK's base rate changed was March 2009. If you're trying to remember what was happening back then, that month RPI also reached zero for the first time [...]
James Bond 24: All you need to know about Spectre, plus we crunch the numbers on franchise’s profits December 4, 2014 James Bond mania is upon us. Today at Pinewood Studios in west London, Sony Entertainment, Eon and MGM revealed the details of what has until now been simply called James Bond 24. The new film is called Spectre, taking the title from Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, a fictional organisation that [...]
