London property prices: A penthouse just broke the record for the most expensive flat ever sold in Mayfair September 22, 2014 London property developer British Land said today it's just sold the most expensive Mayfair home ever – a massive 5,000 sq ft penthouse on Clarges Street in Mayfair, which sold for "materially above" the previous record of £5,000 per sq ft (which, fact fans, was set by a property on Mayfair's Mount Street). The company [...]
Challenger bank Aldermore announces plans to IPO September 22, 2014 Five-year-old Aldermore Bank has today announced plans to list on the stock market, saying it wants to raise £75m "to support the medium-term growth of the business". The bank, which focuses on lending to small businesses and homeowners, was one of several "challenger banks" launched during the recession when its founders saw a gap in [...]
Alex Salmond resigns after failing to secure Scotland independence vote September 19, 2014 Alex Salmond is to resign as Scotland's first minister after he failed to secure a Yes vote in yesterday's Scottish independence referendum. The head of the Scottish National Party has been at the helm in the country since 2007 and overseen a huge upsurge in support for the SNP. But after the No campaign [...]
Pound falls against the dollar after early Scottish referendum euphoria September 19, 2014 After a fast start, the pound has lost steam against the dollar. As the Scottish referendum results revealed a 55 per cent no vote, investors expressed their relief by sending the pound up 0.47 per cent to a two-year high of 1.2749 against the euro. Against the dollar, it rose even more sharply, by 0.5 per cent, [...]
iPhone 6 launch: Apple fans queue for hours as release date arrives September 19, 2014 After days of anguished waiting, today we finally get our hands on the hallowed iPhone 6. The phone was unveiled last week following months of speculation over everything from its launch date to its colour, size, battery strength, screen resolution, etc etc. When chief executive Tim Cook finally did the big reveal, we discovered the [...]
RBS, Lloyds and Standard Life share prices rise as investors get giddy over Scottish No vote September 19, 2014 What a difference a week makes. Just a few days ago, the likes of RBS, Lloyds and Standard Life were all threatening to move south of the border in the event of a no vote, on the grounds that an independent Scotland would be too shaky to operate properly in. But today, investors showed their [...]
David Cameron on Scottish independence results: “There can be no re-runs” September 19, 2014 The people of Scotland have spoken and it is a "clear result", David Cameron said at a press conference after the results of the Scottish independence referendum were announced this morning. The debate is now "settled for a generation. There can be no re-runs". "Like millions of people I am delighted," he added. The Prime [...]
Scottish independence: What is the Barnett Formula? September 18, 2014 The "Barnett Formula" has been a source of much debate during coverage of Scottish independence referendum results – but what is it, who came up with it and what does keeping it on in the event of a No vote mean for the rest of the UK? The Barnett Forumal is the mechanism used by [...]
Scottish #indyref visualisation: See how Twitter reacted September 18, 2014 Well, the votes are in and an army of people will now spend the night counting. Twitter, though, may have an early indication of which way the vote went. The company released a map using #indyref to show how the conversation spread across the world during polling day. It also pointed out that, despite early [...]
Watch: Leaf’s-eye-view of a tree being hoisted to the top of the Walkie Talkie September 18, 2014 Skyscrapers may be complex to build, but what about getting the furniture into them? You can usually squeeze a sofa into the lift – but a full-grown tree requires rather more specialist equipment. The video below gives a leaf's-eye-view of the process involved in hoisting a palm tree into the top floors of the Walkie [...]
