Biotech tie-up boosts Nasdaq – New York Report April 21, 2015 MAJOR US stock indexes lost ground on lackluster earnings reports yesterday, while oil fell on concerns about US crude stockpiles and Saudi Arabia’s announcement that it ended its military campaign in Yemen. The Nasdaq composite index was the brightest spot in US stock markets. It gained 0.4 percent, helped by a $40bn biotechnology acquisition proposal [...]
Labour would never recover from a Faustian pact with the SNP April 21, 2015 As the opinion polls blow hot and cold for both the Labour and Conservative leaders, so Ed Miliband and David Cameron are likely to broker a deal with minor parties to form a government. No one I know believes an outright victory from an overall majority is on the cards. For the Conservatives, the choices [...]
Why zero inflation means there are no more free lunches for politicians April 21, 2015 The temptation to believe in the concept of a free lunch has proved irresistible to numerous governments through the ages. Henry VIII, for example, has seized the popular imagination once again through Damian Lewis’s brilliant portrayal of him in Wolf Hall. Bluff King Hal is the nickname often associated with the King. But to his [...]
Steve Jobs was wrong: The customer knows best in the age of crowd-sourcing April 21, 2015 Apple’s 1997 “Think Different” campaign stands out as one of the major turning points in that company’s history. It was a message that Steve Jobs and his innovative spirit had returned to the firm, after he left in 1985. Jobs was as famous for championing the misfit as for saying that, in business, you won’t [...]
Without significant progress at the Eurogroup meeting this week, is Greek default inevitable? April 21, 2015 Sam Bowman is deputy director of the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes No country has pulled back from a peacetime debt-to-GDP ratio as high as Greece’s 175 per cent without defaulting. Its options are to grow out of debt, default unilaterally, or restructure its debt in cooperation with the Eurogroup. With the last of these [...]
“Toxic” General Election to hit pound hard: Experts predict sterling will slump in value – but traders can profit April 21, 2015 Election uncertainty has begun to take its toll on sterling. After the leaders’ debate last week – which appeared to make the prospect of a coalition government less likely – the pound weakened. Since the start of the year, the pound has fallen 4.4 per cent versus the dollar, and now some strategists are predicting [...]
Restaurant review: Percy & Founders brings a taste of spring to Fitzrovia April 21, 2015 Is there a greater sign of our times than a hospital closing down to be replaced by a modern European restaurant and some offices? It’s the kind of thing politicians go wild for, especially this close to an election. “I pledge that my government will favour nurses over barbecued langoustines. We need hospital beds, not [...]
Mix it up: Japan’s favourite drink returns – sake is having a moment April 21, 2015 Learning to drink is like learning to read, in as much as you should start with the easy stuff, although it is generally advised that you perfect the latter before indulging in the former. Nobody could ever learn English by reading James Joyce (except, perhaps, someone with the intellect of James Joyce), while you'll struggle [...]
How to build an award-winning firm April 21, 2015 From having a hot-desking boss to giving back, the focus always returns to employees. My company Simply Business enjoyed the great honour of coming top in the Sunday Times Best Companies To Work For ranking earlier this year. Our pole position is testament to the work everyone in the company has done to ensure that [...]
Brutal Bayern crush Porto to reach last four April 21, 2015 REIGNING German champions Bayern Munich demolished FC Porto 6-1 at the Allianz Arena last night to obliterate their first-leg arrears and secure a Champions League semi-final place for the fourth successive year. Trailing 3-1 from their inauspicious opening clash at Estadio do Dragao last week, Bayern cast aside the doubts hanging over their European participation [...]
