Dishonored 2: This first-person assassin game by Arkane is a glorious steampunk wonderland November 23, 2016 Dishonored 2 feels reassuringly familiar. The action may have shifted from plague-ridden, Dickensian squalor to sun-baked, equatorial squalor, but the constituent parts remain: it looks the same, it plays the same, it almost smells the same. Thank goodness, because Dishonored is at the very apex of video-game design, dense and textured, beautiful despite the muck [...]
We asked economists what they want from Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement November 21, 2016 During the rapid post-Brexit shuffle at the top of UK politics many a word was spoken in haste, and perhaps none more so than confident predictions that Philip Hammond would put paid to George Osborne’s austerity politics with a bold return to Keynesian government investment. That might have been a bit rash, but it demonstrates [...]
Think twice before sacking an employee for getting a tattoo November 21, 2016 Beauty is in the eye of the beholder – some love tattoos and believe they are works of art and others simply despise them. Whatever your view of their aesthetic appeal, however, as they have become increasingly common, tattoos have also become a dilemma in many workplaces. There have been reports of people with a [...]
Both the US and Britain have a strong interest in developing even closer ties November 21, 2016 "For we must consider that we shall be as a City upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us” – these were the words spoken by John Winthrop as he, along with other puritans, travelled to colonial America in 1630. Some 400 years later, his words seem just as poignant now as I’m [...]
UK drug strategy has failed and the Treasury is missing out on as much as £1.05bn of the UK’s growing cannabis market November 21, 2016 The world is changing its mind on drug legalisation policies, and the UK will be left behind unless politicians take action. Legalisation and regulation of the UK's £6.8bn per year cannabis market could send as much as £1.05bn to the Treasury, a new report said. Ditching Britain's failed strategy and following the pragmatic approach of major western democracies like Germany, Canada and [...]
America is embracing the opportunities of AI while the rest of the world frets October 25, 2016 The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to generate concerns. The latest furore emerged at the start of this week. Researchers in the top ranked University College London computer science department claimed that an AI algorithm correctly predicts the outcome of 79 per cent of cases heard at the European Court of Human Rights. The current fear [...]
In quotes: Theresa May’s Conservative Party Conference speech October 5, 2016 Theresa May has promised to reset the Conservative Party's relationship with capitalism, crack down on immigration and intervene in a host of "dysfunctional markets". In her speech to the Conservative Party Conference the new Prime Minister addressed everything from Brexit to grammar schools to corporate governance and focused on the theme of "change". Here are the key [...]
City watchdog celebrates six months of Senior Managers’ Regime by proposing tweaks September 28, 2016 The City watchdog has today launched a series of consultations for potential tweaks to one of its biggest initiatives to boost culture in financial firms, six months after it started being rolled out. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking at ways to bolster the provisions in the Senior Managers' and Certification Regime, which has applied [...]
Taxman increases number of raids on premises by over a quarter September 26, 2016 More and more businesses could be expecting a rather abrupt visit from the taxman, as figures out today has found the number of raids carried out by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has shot up over the last year. The research found that HMRC searched 761 properties as part of its criminal investigations over the course of the [...]
Before Britain joined the EEC, we had free movement between Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Post-Brexit, we can reignite the benefits that brought September 21, 2016 Nearly three months on from Britain’s momentous decision to leave the EU, our future remains uncertain. The Prime Minister is not expected to invoke Article 50 until next year and we’re yet to see a precise outline of the type of deal that she will seek to achieve in the coming exit negotiations. Some Remainers [...]