Stocks and sterling show signs of life in mini-recovery after market rout June 15, 2016 Markets jumped in the first minutes of trading this morning and the pound rose against the dollar, clawing back some of yesterday's losses. The FTSE 100 climbed 0.8 per cent at the open, but was still below 6,000 points at 5,972 following yesterday's rout. Standard Chartered, Anglo American, Antofagasta, Glencore, Burberry and Tesco were the [...]
Taxpayers’ Alliance hits out at “quangocrat gravy train” June 6, 2016 Over 130 bureaucrats sit on more than a single quango board, according to research from the Taxpayers' Alliance, but less than five per cent made declarations of political activity. In data published today, the lobbying group reported that fifteen individuals sat on more than two quango boards, while board members collectively missed 1,500 meetings over 2014-15. The [...]
Olympic controversy and Zika outbreaks have done nothing to dampen Rio de Janeiro’s party atmosphere June 1, 2016 In what is surely a daily occurrence in Brazil, a bunch of transfixed foreigners sat speechless ogling a local. “Wesley, she looks friendly, get out of the van and walk up to her,’’ suggested our Iguassu Falls host Juliana. “I have two daughters, I’m not going anywhere near her,’’ Wesley replied. Juliana, let me confirm, [...]
Blood, guts and dead foxes abound in bio-disaster horror Human Animals May 26, 2016 Who doesn’t love foxes? Those pointy orange chaperones of the night. Those bushy tailed wardens of the bins. Not quite a dog, but not quite a cat either, so-called scientists have yet to explain away their alluring vulpine mysteries. In dystopian horror Human Animals, the foxes (along with the pigeons and the mice and every [...]
No, P2P lenders aren’t going to topple banks – but we don’t want to May 25, 2016 Peer-to-peer lending was born a decade ago and has offered an alternative and often more accessible route to funding for thousands of small and medium sized businesses. The sector’s popularity has exploded in recent years, leading many, including a newly published report from Deloitte, to assume that platforms now have the established banking sector in [...]
Warwickshire is surprise entrant in the top 10 European tourist destinations this summer May 24, 2016 It might seem like a left-field candidate, but Warwickshire has been voted one of Europe's top destinations for travellers this summer by Lonely Planet. The West Midlands country earned sixth place in the Best in Europe 2016 list thanks to its breadth of offerings including "bucolic hills, sublime castles and historic market towns". The Bard is [...]
Contagious content: Don’t Panic’s Joe Wade on why Jon Snow, GoPro and The LAD Bible hold the secrets to making a video ad go viral May 23, 2016 A number of advertisers have won a Cannes Gold Lion. But few can claim a Bafta on top of it, and say they’ve dug up the lawn of a former frontbench MP. “We wanted to repackage social and political issues in a different way,” says Joe Wade, film-maker and co-founder of Don’t Panic London, speaking of [...]
Dog lovers, look away now: Cat pictures may soon be coming to a Tube near you May 20, 2016 Hot on the tail of the city's emerging cat café culture, Londoners may soon be able to see cats during their daily commute. A cuddly Kickstarter fund aims to replace all the ads at a Tube station with pictures of cats, and it is coming within a whisker of its target. Although it was initially dismissed [...]
Cameron under fire over claims he backed remain, even while negotiating with EU May 17, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has come under fire from Leave campaigners after he reportedly wrote to business leaders to discuss a Remain campaign strategy even before sealing a renegotiated deal with the EU. According to the Daily Mail, Cameron wrote to Serco boss Rupert Soames just under two weeks before his renegotiation was complete. In a [...]
Operation Tabernula: Hind and Dodgson sentenced in insider trading case May 12, 2016 Martyn Dodgson has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison today, while Andrew Hind has been given three and a half years, for their roles in a landmark insider trading case. Accountant Hind and former Deutsche Bank director Dodgson were convicted on Monday of conspiring to insider deal between November 2006 and March [...]