Scottish independence: Eddie Izzard and Bob Geldof lead Trafalgar Square rally supporting union September 15, 2014 An estimated 10,000 Londoners gathered in Trafalgar Square yesterday evening in a last-ditch bid to urge Scotland to vote No to independence in Thursday’s referendum. Musician and campaigner Sir Bob Geldof made a surprise appearance at the event, hosted by comedian Eddie Izzard and broadcaster Dan Snow. Geldof said that he wanted to [...]
Weak US car manufacturing may slow taper September 15, 2014 A slowdown in US manufacturing may tempt the Federal Reserve to delay the ending of the asset purchase programme when it meets today and tomorrow. Tapering is expected to end in October with the monthly purchases reduced from $25bn (£15.4bn) to zero. But yesterday’s data shows manufacturing declining by 0.4 per cent over August, the [...]
How Google and Amazon workers keep their focus September 15, 2014 Harriet Green examines the Two Pizza Rule and the benefits of workplace mindfulness. Distractions can be crippling to productivity. Gloria Mark of the University of California found that, on average, office workers are distracted every 11 minutes. And worse, it takes 25 minutes to return to a task once you’ve wandered onto something else. [...]
Golf Comment: Relaxation is vital but individual preparation is driven by players September 15, 2014 IT is just ten days to the start of the Ryder Cup and while in some senses it’s fever pitch right now, it’s also a slight lull for everyone concerned. The team is picked and everything but everything is done and we’re all just waiting now for a week on Friday now. These are very [...]
bto test September 15, 2014 It's the week of the Scottish independence and, with the added excitement of a monetary policy meeting at the Federal Reserve European markets are expected to open down. The latest jobs numbers aside, US numbers have been generally positive and a shift in tone regarding an interest rate rise is expected from the fed sooner rather [...]
Wall St The Week Ahead: Fed meeting in spotlight September 14, 2014 THE RECENT wobbly stretch in both stocks and bonds may persist for the short term if the US Federal Reserve this week lives up to expectations and signals the days of near-zero interest rates are numbered. Anxiety over the two-day Fed policy meeting, centred on expectations the central bank will likely drop its pledge to [...]
FedEx crown and fifth win eludes McIlroy September 14, 2014 WORLD No1 Rory McIlroy fell short of his fifth win of the season after America’s Billy Horschel claimed the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup title in Atlanta yesterday. The duo were among five players who arrived at East Lake for the season-ending tournament with the knowledge victory would see them crowned FedEx champion as well [...]
Robots won’t take all City jobs – they could even give you a pay rise September 11, 2014 You're back from the summer, but for how long? In case you missed it, one tech visionary thinks many City jobs could be automated within a decade. Dave Coplin, who glories in the title of chief envisioning officer at Microsoft UK, told the Telegraph that “the City could be run by algorithms”. Ten years is [...]
Dollar slides on more disappointment from the US as jobless claims rise September 11, 2014 The dollar slid 0.28 per cent against the pound this afternoon after fresh data from the US showed August's disappointing non-farm payroll figure was more than just a blip. Figures released today showed the number of applicants claiming unemployment benefits rose to 315,000 last week, up from 304,000 the week before and way above economists' [...]
Football Comment: Delighted for Hodgson as diamond system lets his forward gems shine September 8, 2014 A DIAMOND midfield system is perfect for England, and they showed it last night in what was an enormously confidence-boosting win in Switzerland. Brendan Rodgers used it last season to accommodate both Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge, and it works similarly well for Roy Hodgson, who has to play Wayne Rooney and, though injured last [...]