220,000 households without power in wake of storm October 28, 2013 The Energy Networks Association have said that up to 220,000 households are without power in southern England. UK Power Networks haved claimed that 140,000 households are without power in the south and east of England. UK Power Networks said that high winds overnight have damaged parts of their electricity network leading to power [...]
Italian business confidence sees unexpected rise in October October 28, 2013 Italian business confidence has upset analyst predictions, as consensus forecasts suggested a drop in the indicator this October. Instead, the latest data shows an increase from 96.8 (revised from 96.6) to 97.3. Consensus estimates suggested a drop to 96.3. So a stronger October figure, and a nice upward revision to September's. A rough translation of [...]
Government report claims HS2 vital to avoid massive delays October 28, 2013 Passengers are to face 14 years of weekend closures and longer journeys if alternative projects to HS2 are pursued, according to a government commissioned report. The new report seen by the BBC is not due to be released until tomorrow. The report by Network Rail and Atkins says that upgrading existing rail lines would have [...]
Iain Duncan Smith’s disability reforms delayed as system buckles under pressure October 25, 2013 Iain Duncan Smith's flagship disability benefits reforms will now be implemented at a much slower pace because the reassessment system is struggling to cope with the strain placed on it by a test group of claimants, City A.M. has learned. The decision has been made just days before tens of thousands of people were due [...]
Union climbdown saves Grangemouth refinery October 25, 2013 Sources have told Sky that the Grangemouth refinery will be saved in a last-minute deal. The Unite union confirmed that it has accepted the survival plan proposed by Ineos in a dramatic U-turn. On Friday Unite offered a two-year no-strike deal in an attempt to prevent the closure of the Grangemouth refinery, MP Michael [...]
US jobless claims drop by 12,000 after being plagued with shutdown and glitches October 24, 2013 After no jobs data we're now back to getting messy data. Before the US government shutdown computer issues in California were playing havoc with jobless claim numbers. Now that the political squabbles have been dealt with (at least temporarily) the statisticians still have to deal with that backlog. So we've seen a lot of revisions [...]
Pictures: Is this the world’s most expensive desk? October 24, 2013 One Mayfair office has received a £500,000 facelift – complete with a very custom £40,000 desk. Patalab Architecture, the firm behind the refurb, call the piece the "Porsche of office furniture". The 5.5 metre sclupted desk is fabricated in cast aluminium with a sprayed bronze, patinated finish. View Larger Map It's now in use in [...]
Two charts that show how artists like Jay Z reacted to Cristal’s hip-hop snub October 24, 2013 There's a great infographic from Vanity Fair floating around – charting the favoured brands of the hip-hop artist Jay Z. Jay Z's Most Name-Dropped Products: An Infographic http://t.co/o17My04ev7 pic.twitter.com/cA2sc9hoXw — VANITY FAIR (@VanityFair) October 18, 2013 We've all become used to product placement deals in entertainment more widely, but whether Jay Z mentions these [...]
Lego minifigures set to outnumber people by 2019 October 24, 2013 The little figures created by Danish toy company Lego are a rapidly exploding population – and according to XKCD will outnumber humans by 2019. Luckily they're only around 1/40th of the size of an adult human. (XKCD) Lego began producing their iconic interlocking bricks in 1949, but the minfigures wouldn't appear until 1978. XKCD's Randall [...]
Eurozone output set to rise for fourth month running October 24, 2013 Eurozone growth is slowing, according to the latest purchasing managers' index (PMI) data from Markit. These flash estimates suggest that the area's exit from recession may nonetheless be more than temporary – they signal growth for a fourth consecutive month. All sector growth has dropped to a two month low, down from 52.2 to 51.5, [...]
