Watch: Lower your glass to 50 years of Think! drink driving adverts November 7, 2014 Today marks the 50th anniversary of the drink drive advert – something not to raise a glass to. In 1964, three years before the first legal drink-driving limit was introduced, TV viewers were treated to an informative advert telling them just how dangerous it could be. Looking at the advice is somewhat alarming [...]
UK deficit widens as Brits can’t get enough of those German goods November 7, 2014 The love affair between David Cameron and Angela Merkel might be souring, but us Brits can't get enough of German goods – the UK has just recorded its largest ever trade deficit with Germany. Germany has long been our largest trading partner, both in terms of exports and imports. But between August and September [...]
John Lewis Christmas 2014 ad campaign: The best spoofs the internet has to offer November 7, 2014 John Lewis' Christmas 2014 advert looks set to beat its previous record for most viewed, most shared, most loved and most commercial. Monty the Penguin had already had more than four million views on YouTube by this morning. But as every celebrity worth their salt knows, you've not made it until you've been parodied. [...]
Sports Direct owner Ashley puts money on Debenhams success November 6, 2014 THE FOUNDER of Sports Direct, Mike Ashley, has sold his 4.6 per cent stake in Debenhams and entered into a put option worth 6.1 per cent. The deal was conducted through Sports Direct, and required the business to dispose of the Debenhams stake that it built upon last month, adding a further £33m worth of [...]
Sports Direct converts its Debenhams stake to put option – and increases its exposure to 12.7 per cent November 6, 2014 Mike Ashley has done it again. He's converted his standard investment (or “investment” as we call it) in Debenhams into a put option, increasing his exposure to the department store along the way. The move, which is actually taking place through Ashley's retail giant Sports Direct, involves disposing of the 4.6 per cent stake taken [...]
Towers of Terror: Cheesegrater and five other London skyscrapers that are trying to kill you November 6, 2014 London can be a treacherous place. And not just because of the crime or the poverty or the grinding working hours. London's skyscrapers are trying to kill you. All of you. Yesterday we heard the alarming news that part of a steel bolt had fallen off the Cheesegrater, crashing to the ground – [...]
Bank of England widens access to back-stop loans November 5, 2014 The Bank of England has today widened access to its “back-stop” loans to include broker-dealers and central counterparties (CCPs) for the first time. The inclusion of these two groups within the Sterling Monetary Framework is “designed to recognise the important role” they play in the financial services industry and the wider economy, the Bank [...]
Is today a turning point for Marks & Spencer’s share price? November 5, 2014 Marks & Spencer's share price has soared 8.3 per cent this morning, suggesting that investors were pleasantly surprised by its better-than-expected results. Although it marked its 13th quarter of declines, the 3.4 per cent drop in clothing was lower than consensus. Analysts this morning are suggesting this could be, if not the beginning of [...]
Marks & Spencer’s half year results – here’s what to look out for November 4, 2014 Marks & Spencer is due to report its first half results tomorrow morning, and the consensus is that it will be another gloomy one for the venerable British retailer. Analysts are saying the 770-store retailer will have racked up a 3.7 per cent decline in general merchandising like-for-likes during its second quarter. If [...]
Gunpowder and treason? No, this time it’s a fatberg that has been discovered under Whitehall November 4, 2014 Fireworks' Night is nearly upon us, but instead of gunpowder and treason, a mega fatberg has been discovered right under Whitehall. In a sewer 10 metres below the centre of government, one of the city's biggest fatbergs – a series of huge congealed rocks made of fat, oil and even “everyday toiletry items” has [...]
