Serious Fraud Office set to launch probe into forex trading in the UK July 20, 2014 The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) is preparing to launch a criminal investigation into manipulation of the foreign exchange market (forex) in the UK, the FT reports. The news comes following several months of intelligence gathering by the SFO, and although it would not confirm or deny the existence of the investigation, it is thought [...]
EU prepares to impose more sanctions on Russia following MH17 plane crash July 20, 2014 The UK, France and Germany have agreed that foreign ministers should “be ready” to impose additional sanctions on Russia when they meet on Tuesday next week, unless access to the crash site of flight MH17 is increased. Since the crash of the Malaysia Airlines plane into rebel-held territory in the east of Ukraine on [...]
Kenneth Clarke: UK economy “fragile” and recovery “not firmly rooted” July 20, 2014 Kenneth Clarke has warned that the UK economy is “fragile” and vulnerable to shocks. The former Tory chancellor said in an interview with The Observer that the UK must break out of the “ludicrous cycle” of house price booms followed by crashes. He indicated that in some ways he admired the coalition's approach [...]
Foreign investment into UK is highest in Europe and second highest in world July 20, 2014 The UK's foreign direct investment (FDI) stock was greater than that any of its European neighbours last year, according to a government report. Called Inward Investment for 2013/2014, it also shows that globally the UK came second only to the USA. More than 1,773 new projects were established using funding from overseas, setting [...]
RJ Reynolds says it will fight order to pay $23.6bn to wife of cancer victim July 20, 2014 RJ Reynolds says it will fight a court order to pay $23.6bn (£13.8bn) to a woman whose husband died of lung cancer in 1996. The US's second biggest tobacco company was told that it must pay the significant sum to Cynthia Robinson, wife of the late Michael Johnson, following a four week trial which [...]
Tidal lagoons could contribute £27bn to UK GDP July 17, 2014 The development of tidal lagoons as a source of electricity could bring significant economic benefits to the UK. Currently, none of the UK's electricity is generated using tidal lagoons, but a report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research proposes a 12-year roll-out of six tidal lagoons that could contribute £27bn to UK [...]
Restaurant bites back: Blogger fined for review appearing too high in Google search July 17, 2014 A food blogger has been fined after her searing review of a French restaurant ranked too highly in Google search results. The article, called "the place to avoid in Cap-Ferret: Il Giardino", was written by Caroline Doudet following her trip to the restaurant in south western France last year. In it, she complained of [...]
Emirates urges Airbus to improve A380 superjumbos July 17, 2014 Emirates Airlines has called on aircraft manufacturer Airbus to improve the efficiency of its A380 superjumbos. The Gulf-based airline is Airbus' biggest buyer of A380s, and it wants them to provide improved versions with more efficient engines by 2020. Emirates has already ordered 140 of the aircraft from the European company but Tim [...]
Interruptions at work lead to poor performance July 16, 2014 The more you're interrupted at work, the worse you perform, according to a study published by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society. Called “Do Interruptions Affect Quality of Work?”, it shows that the typical employee in an office environment is interrupted up to six times every hour, and that this is detrimental to their [...]
Rosetta finds a surprise as it approaches secret-holding comet July 16, 2014 Rosetta, the probe that cost the European Space Agency (ESA) €1bn to launch into space as part of a comet-chasing mission, has discovered more than the scientists bargained for. Named after the code-breaking Rosetta stone, it is currently speeding towards comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko in the hope that, when it lands its probe on the surface [...]
