City lovebirds flock to skyscrapers and cable cars for Valentine’s Day bookings February 1, 2016 Valentine's Day is now less than two weeks away, and you’ve only just realised, haven’t you? Securing a restaurant with a view might be hard this year, as the Square Mile’s skyscrapers are already fully booked. Saturday 13th February is the big day for London’s lovebirds, as many venues won’t be open on Sunday. Jason Atherton’s City Social in [...]
These are Bill Gates’ favourite tunes: Desert Island Discs reveals Bowie, Queen, Jimi Hendrix and Ed Sheeran on playlist January 31, 2016 Bill Gates, the world's richest man and founder of Microsoft, has found some time to talk about his favourite tunes and his extraordinary life. Appearing on the BBC's Desert Island Discs, he said David Bowie and Queen's Under Pressure reminded him of his disco days, while Jimi Hendrix's Are you Experienced was played by Microsoft co-founder Paul [...]
BT completes £12.5bn EE deal today – and the sector’s M&A activity could be a good thing for consumers who want more from their providers January 29, 2016 So it’s finally official: BT now owns EE. The result is a telecoms market that looks very different this morning than yesterday, with BT gaining access to the one in three UK mobile users already on EE. Existing EE customers can expect to see some exciting offers over the coming months as BT tries to persuade them to [...]
BT’s share price climbs as it completes EE deal – creating UK’s biggest telecoms firm – but Ofcom’s decision on Openreach yet to be made January 29, 2016 BT's share price climbed this morning as it completed its £12.5bn takeover of EE today, in a deal that makes it the biggest telecoms firm in the UK. The deal, which gives BT instant access to around one in three mobile phone customers in the UK, is expected to help pave the way for the [...]
Sky’s share price rises as James Murdoch named chairman (again) and broadcaster reports highest UK and Ireland growth in 10 years January 29, 2016 Rupert Murdoch's son James is to become chairman of Sky in April, as incumbent Nichols Ferguson steps down after 12 years on the board. Martin Gilbert has been appointed as deputy chairman, with Andrew Sukawaty taking over his former role as Sky's senior independent director. This is not Murdoch's first stint as chairman of the [...]
Racing betting: No Planning required for in-form Sue Smith at Doncaster January 28, 2016 Regular readers of this column will know that we have had a cracking start to 2016 with three consecutive decent price winners all trained by women. Kerry Lee’s pair Mountainous (14/1) and Russe Blanc (20/1) were followed into the winners’ enclosure last week by Sue Smith’s Cloudy Too (7/1). And I’m sticking with another Smith-trained [...]
Watch this brilliant rap against the blight of buzzwords and business jargon January 27, 2016 Everyone hates business buzzwords. You know the ones – ideation, game-changer, blue-sky thinking, we could go on. We've already had a tool to banish them from our pitches, and warnings that they could be killing our career prospects, but now there's a creative plea to banish the buzzwords in the form of a brilliant rap. Created [...]
How to make business travel bearable: If you need a Bloody Mary, it’s the tomato juice you’re after January 27, 2016 From business class to spirits in the sky – few aspects of corporate life are glamorised quite like travel. Frequent fliers are more likely to remember their last business trip because of flight delays, jet-lag, and the inconvenience caused by a dead phone battery. This year, firms worldwide are expected to spend more on travel than [...]
Challenger Metro Bank unveils plans for £1.9bn float as it prepares to reveal reversal of losses January 26, 2016 Metro Bank is set to unveil plans for a massive £1.9bn float, and could be listed by the end of February, according to reports. The bank is also aiming to raise £500m by selling new shares to its existing investors, which will bring the total amount raised since the bank launched in 2010 to £1.1bn. [...]
The best games of 2016 – charting the biggest new releases to look forward to this year January 26, 2016 Adrift ETA: 28 March Available on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One Designed to be played with a virtual reality headset, Adrift plonks you inside the helmet of an imperiled astronaut who must solve a number of very pressing space-based mysteries. Namely, why has your space station exploded? And while we’re on the topic, is it [...]