Defective regulations are pushing up energy prices as competition suffers October 27, 2013 ENERGY prices keep rising. Prime Ministers and energy ministers, past and present, all propose their own solutions, although there is little agreement on the cause of the problem. The latest proposal is an annual competition audit by energy regulator Ofgem, with input invited from the Office of Fair Trading. It will look at prices, profits [...]
City Matters: Celebrate the soft power underpinning London’s economic fundamentals October 27, 2013 OVER the past twelve months, we have seen the UK economy, London and the City move towards a healthier position. The UK economy expanded by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter, the IMF has significantly raised its growth forecast for 2013 as a whole, London businesses feel more optimistic than at any time since [...]
We can thank Britain’s services industries for powering the recovery October 27, 2013 AS EXPECTED, the latest GDP figures show that the UK economy grew healthily in the third quarter of this year. All the main sectors – services, manufacturing and construction – contributed to growth for the second quarter in a row. This provides some reassurance that the recovery is broad-based, and that the momentum will continue [...]
Letters to the Editor – 28/10 – Energy innovation, Best of Twitter October 27, 2013 Energy innovation [Re: The global economy sinks under its debts as the real cost of energy rises, Thursday] Tim Morgan’s vision of low EROEI (Energy Return On Energy Invested) constraining living standards is overly pessimistic. Though his EROEI data may be true, the economy-as-an-energy-system argument requires two additional premises, which are not. First, the argument [...]
Tech whizz who knew online video was more than a fad October 27, 2013 Blinkx founder Suranga Chandratillake talks to Annabel Palmer about his success in Silicon Valley THE MAN behind video media company Blinkx, Suranga Chandratillake has strong views about why Britain lacks its own Facebook. Negative perceptions of tech engineers and software developers are holding people back. Whether this would mean all eight-year old schoolboys, when given [...]
Innovation Diary: Literary crowdfunding: How to create value in a demanding industry October 27, 2013 DEMOCRATIC publishing has arrived. Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing allows authors to upload e-books, earn royalties from sales, while bypassing traditional publishing industry gatekeepers. Createspace does the same for physical books. Gumroad, meanwhile, lets designers, game developers, and musicians join writers in uploading digital files for sale. But it’s hard to make money. Taleist found in [...]
Welcome to Miami, the US party capital October 27, 2013 Miami is a hedonist’s paradise. Steve Dinneen discovers the nocturnal delights Florida’s clubbing hotspot has to offer A FRIEND of mine became a YouTube sensation on the eve of President Obama’s 2008 election victory. He drunkenly – and, with the benefit of hindsight, ill-advisedly – resigned from his job live on Dutch TV, complete with [...]
And a little closer to home… October 27, 2013 IF MIAMI sounds a little too far away, you can get a slice of the W party atmosphere without the jet lag at the Leicester Square hotel. It recently launched three screening suites, which, at the touch of a button, transform your room into a private cinema. The bedroom is pretty swish to start with, [...]
The City A.M. guide to keeping fit, fresh and healthy in the City October 27, 2013 The City is bursting with different ways of getting you back in shape – and most of these activities can be enjoyed in your lunch break 1. Take intensive bursts of exercise LAX St Botolph’s, the City’s largest gym, opens today with a fitness programme specifically aimed at reflecting the lives of busy City workers, [...]
Get Fit Diary: Week three, in which I find Tuscany and dieting aren’t compatible October 27, 2013 NO ONE becomes a journalist for the money. Salaries are small and getting smaller, but somehow the profession retains enough glamour to whet the appetite of thousands of naïve and willing-to-intern graduates. If only they knew. Gone are the days when riotous hacks congregated nightly in the Groucho to drink the bar dry; generous expense [...]
