Lord Barnett, former chief secretary to the Treasury and author of the Barnett Formula dies aged 91 Lord Barnett, the former Labour cabinet minister and author of the Barnett formula, has died aged 91. The formula Lord Barnett devised has become a hot button issue in British politics, particularly in the wake of the Scottish independence referendum. Barnett created the system as a temporary solution to arguments in the cabinet about the [...]
Uber takes fresh hit after Dutch court bans UberPop taxi app Taxi app company Uber took a fresh hit today after a court in the Netherlands ruled that the San Francisco startup's UberPop service is now banned because of licensing issues. The Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal in The Hague decided UberPop drivers could be whacked with fines of €10,000 (£7,800) if they violate the rule, [...]
Boris Johnson slams Nigel Farage for blaming M4 traffic delay on immigrants London Mayor Boris Johnson has fired a broadside at Ukip's Nigel Farage for blaming his tardiness on immigrants. Farage was due to address the party's first Welsh conference in Port Talbot this weekend but was held up by traffic on the M4. The senior Tory lambasted Farage's excuses as "feeble" and one of the "poorest" [...]
Tax-cutting guru Arthur Laffer delivers stinging verdict on Thomas Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century December 8, 2014 While the initial excitement surrounding Thomas Piketty's treatise Capital in the 21st Century may have subsided, its impact endures – and now one of the most renowned free-market economists has sought to reignite the debate. After receiving a wave of adulation, the book came under withering assault for its use of statistics, data and methodology. [...]
Bank of England: Most mortgage borrowers could cope with an interest rate rise December 8, 2014 The majority of mortgage borrowers could cope if interest rates rose two percentage points, the Bank of England said today. According to the Bank's quarterly bulletin, which looked at the results of the annual NMG Consulting survey of household finances, if interest rates rose from their historic low of 0.5 per cent to 2.5 per [...]
Sony PlayStation Network taken down after hack attack and Lizard Squad claims responsibility December 8, 2014 Hacker group Lizard Squad has claimed responsibility for an attack on Sony's PlayStation network that left some unable to log into the service. The company said its working to fix the problem and greets visitors the site with the message "page not found! It's not you. It's the internet's fault". Sony suffered another attack last [...]
Apple antitrust case on brink of collapse December 6, 2014 An anti-trust lawsuit brought against tech giant Apple could soon fall apart thanks to last-minute objections raised by the company's lawyers. The case is to decide whether Apple misused its position in the digital music market between 2006 and March 2009. Apple used software that meant only music bought from iTunes could be played the [...]
Tim Draper revealed as a winner in second US Bitcoin auction December 6, 2014 US venture capitalist Tim Draper was won 2,000 Bitcoins worth $750,000 in a bid auction held by the US Marshals Service. The Bitcoins were part of a haul of 50,000 that were seized after the shutdown of online drugs marketplace Silk Road last year. The Bitcoins were taken from wallet files that belonged to the [...]
Morgan Stanley set to shell out more bonuses upfront December 6, 2014 The good time are back for finance giant Morgan Stanley which has announced it will doling out more its bonuses to employees upfront thanks to the company's healthy condition. The move aligns Morgan Stanley with many of its competitors and will raise its fourth quarter compensation by around $1.2bn. The investment bank said that 50 [...]
Small Business Saturday 2014: High street stores are not keeping up with the online era, research claims December 6, 2014 As Brits are being urged to get out onto the high street to mark Small Business Saturday new research shows consumers aren't too impressed with the pace of change in the country's small shops. Only six per cent of the public think local shops are sufficiently equipped for an era of online retail and more [...]
