Entrepreneurs flock to London June 9, 2014 LONDON dominates a new league table showing the hottest neighbourhoods for start-up companies, with all but three of the UK’s top 20 areas for business creation located within the capital. Topping the list, published by accountancy firm UHY Hacker Young, is the postcode EC1V – home to the so-called tech city cluster of digital companies, [...]
Fifa’s sponsors turn up heat on governing body June 9, 2014 FOOTBALL’S world governing body Fifa has come under further pressure on the eve of the World Cup after three of its main sponsors expressed concern at allegations of corruption. Sportswear giant Adidas said the “negative tenor of the public debate around Fifa”, following claims that the success of Qatar’s bid to stage the 2022 World [...]
Osborne to push for more brownfield housing sites June 9, 2014 GEORGE Osborne is this week expected to announce plans to encourage builders to develop homes on brownfield sites, as a new survey shows that planning applications in half of London boroughs declined last year. The chancellor will use his Mansion House speech on Thursday to set out new ways the government will make it easier [...]
Artificial intelligence is on the rise – and humans must adapt June 9, 2014 FOR the first time ever, a computer programme has managed to dupe experts into thinking that it was a 13-year old boy. This is a major milestone in the progress of artificial intelligence, and thus a hugely important development for labour markets, for the global economy and for all of us. The Russian computer programme [...]
Staff killed in Karachi airport militant attack June 9, 2014 AT LEAST five people have been killed after gunmen attacked a terminal at one of Pakistan’s biggest airports in Karachi yesterday. The attack on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan’s sprawling commercial hub of 18m, took place as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s government tries to engage Taliban militants in negotiations to end years of fighting. [...]
Manufacturing firms confident of UK growth June 9, 2014 THE MANUFACTURING sector is growing in confidence about the year ahead, with firms dramatically upgrading their expectations for growth as the recovery looks increasingly solid. Industrial firms now expect a 3.6 per cent expansion during 2014, ahead of the economy generally and up from the 2.7 per cent they predicted just three months ago. Manufacturing [...]
Hiring surging at near-record pace June 9, 2014 THE RAPID upswing in employment by British firms is still not slowing down, with hiring intentions close to record levels and still picking up pace. More and more employers are looking to raise their staff levels, and shortages are likely to emerge in key sectors, according to accountancy firm BDO’s latest employment index. The index [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 09 June 2014 June 9, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Swedes hit Juncker’s EU hopes Jean-Claude Juncker’s ambitions to be the next European Commission president have been dealt a further blow after Sweden’s prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt raised questions about the credibility of the process for filling the top job in Brussels. Russian companies to trade renminbi Russian companies are preparing to switch [...]
Christine Lagarde grovels to Osborne over IMF’s prediction June 9, 2014 IMF BOSS Christine Lagarde yesterday gave a pleading apology to chancellor George Osborne over claims a year ago that his economic policies were “playing with fire.” Since the International Monetary Fund made the claims the economy has recovered rapidly, with unemployment diving and GDP now thought to be back at its pre-crash peak. “I completely [...]
London-based advisor Cedar closes deal on a Lehman hotel June 9, 2014 THE LONDON-based hotel advisor who was responsible for putting together the purchase of the Savoy in 2005, Cedar Capital Partners, has closed this year’s biggest deal in Europe, with the Meridien Etoile in Paris being snapped up for an estimated €280m (£227m). The hotel is being sold by hotel investment firm Starwood Capital and the [...]
