EU re-ignites investigation into anti-trust activities by Russia’s Gazprom February 25, 2015 The EU is about to get going with its huge anti-trust case against Gazprom, Russia's biggest energy company. Responsible for supplying the European Union (EU) with 30 per cent of its gas, Gazprom has been accused of breaching the bloc's rules through over-charging customers in eastern European countries, hindering the progress of rival [...]
As many as two in three smokers will die from the habit February 25, 2015 The slogan “smoking kills” might sound like something that applies to an unlucky few, but as many as two out of every three smokers will die from the habit if they fail to give up. According to a study of 200,000 people in Australia, smoking just 10 cigarettes a day doubles the risk [...]
Drones are now being used in “every conceivable application”, from military missions and law enforcement to commerce February 25, 2015 Drones have been making us feel uneasy for years – the unmanned machines are capable of spying on activities anywhere in the world, and with just a single command they can wipe out huge numbers of people. Not only that, but they mess up their targets pretty easily – a recent study by [...]
How to stop the spread of HIV? Scientists may have solved the problem with Truvada pill February 25, 2015 Scientists may have made a breakthrough in the quest to stop the transmission of HIV between gay men. Created by American biopharmaceutical giant Gilead Sciences, a daily pill called Truvada is already used to treat people infected with the virus, but a new study across 12 NHS trusts in the UK shows it [...]
Our key takeaways from Mark Carney’s speech on UK interest rates February 24, 2015 During a speech to MPs earlier today, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said an interest rate hike before the end of the year looked likely. Reading out highlights from the central bank's quarterly inflation report, he told parliament’s treasury select committee that the rise would take place despite low consumer inflation, which [...]
HSBC, Goldman Sachs and Barclays are among the banks being investigated for gold price rigging February 24, 2015 The US is looking into whether the world's biggest banks have rigged the prices of precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum. The Department of Justice (DoJ) and Commodities and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have launched the investigation following of a series of scandals in which banks altered benchmark rates to make [...]
Housing crisis: Greenbelt golf courses cover an area twice the size of Kensington and Chelsea February 24, 2015 There isn't enough room in London to sustain its growing population, with an estimated 50,000 new homes needed each year just to keep up. In 2014, just 20,000 new homes were built in the greater London area – which is far from being on track to meet chancellor George Osborne latest target of [...]
The number of sick days we take has plummeted – but the reason behind the ones we do take is worrying February 24, 2015 The number of sick days we take has plummeted, a new study has found – but the number of days we take due to depression, anxiety and stress has risen. Using data from 68 GP surgeries across the nation, researchers found fewer periods of sick leave were taken between 2011 and 2013 than [...]
FCA and PRA reveal latest regulatory code – here’s how it will affect people in the City February 23, 2015 A strict new code for financial institutions places greater accountability on non-executives when regulations are breached, and means they will be guilty until proven innocent, rather than the other way around. The proposals were outlined earlier today by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), and their purpose, according to [...]
“Machine learning”: Microsoft creates platform for analysing data in the cloud February 23, 2015 Microsoft has created a platform, located in the cloud, to allow people to analyse large quantities of data. Called Azure, it uses something called "machine learning", which has been around for over 20 years but not available to the masses. It involves using algorithms to look at past behaviour and make business predictions [...]
