Northern Lights UK 2014: Can you see the aurora borealis tonight? September 11, 2014 The Northern Lights could be visible across the night time skies over the UK this week after an intense solar flare from the sun occurred yesterday. The flare, spotted by Nasa, caused a large amount of magnetically charged particles to be released into the atmosphere- the very thing that causes the Northern Lights to occur. [...]
Oscar Pistorius found not guilty of premeditated murder and murder September 11, 2014 Oscar Pistorius has been found not guilty of charges of premeditated murder and murder of Reeva Steenkamp, and will discover tomorrow morning if he is guilty of culpable manslaughter. The former Olympic and Paralympic athlete was in court today to hear his fate following the trial for Steenkamp's murder last year. He was facing a [...]
BSkyB prices £3.25bn bond issue to cover the cost of Sky Europe September 10, 2014 SHARES in British Sky Broadcasting fell slightly in trading yesterday after it priced £3.25bn of euro- and US dollar-denominated bonds to help it buy Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland. The deal will create a so-called Sky Europe, a pan-European PayTV empire, described by BSkyB as a “world-class, multinational pay TV business with enhanced headroom for [...]
Wearable tech: Is it set to take over the City? September 10, 2014 Imagine the end of desks, and watches that log your billing time APPLE’S move into wearable tech this week may have disappointed investors (its shares ended the day 0.4 per cent down after the grand unveiling of its unabashedly rectangular Apple Watch), but the hype surrounding the wider wearables market has hardly dampened. NPD Group [...]
Manchester United finances: Club announce record revenues despite seventh-placed finish September 10, 2014 Manchester United may have endured a turbulent time on the pitch last season, but off it, they continued to make remarkable progress. The club released their financial accounts for the 2013-14 season today, which revealed a mammoth total revenue of £433.2m, a 19 per cent increase on last season's £363m. United's struggles on the pitch culminated [...]
BSkyB share price falls as it prices £3bn bond issue for Sky Europe deal September 10, 2014 Shares in British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSkyB) fell slightly in early trading as it priced £3.25bn of euro and US dollar denominated bonds to help it buy Sky Italia and Sky Deutschland. The deal will create "Sky Europe", a pan-European TV service, described by BSkyB as a "world-class, multinational pay TV business with enhanced headroom [...]
House market recovery lifts Dixons’ sales September 9, 2014 DIXONS CARPHONE, the newly formed high street giant, said yesterday it had made a strong start to the year, with sales basking in the aftermath of the World Cup and benefitting from rising consumer confidence. Chief executive Sebastian James said that the recovery in the housing market helped to boost demand and that while consumer [...]
Why Richard Branson isn’t afraid to fail: Four Virgin businesses that didn’t work out September 9, 2014 It was only a year ago that Richard Branson was prancing around in a red kilt at the launch of Little Red, his domestic airline for the UK, which was designed to provide competition after British Airways owner International Airline Group acquired BMI. Since its launch, though, Little Red has been dogged by rumours [...]
In pictures: Supermoon rises over London for the last time in 2014 September 9, 2014 Last night was the last time in 2014's we'll see a "supermoon" – the time when the moon is at the closest point in its orbit to the earth. At 1.38am UK time, the moon was 222,698 miles from earth – that's 30,000 miles closer than usual, making it 30 per cent brighter and 14 [...]
ITV ups the ante with call for Sky and Virgin to pay to broadcast its shows September 8, 2014 ITV chief executive Adam Crozier yesterday upped the ante on BSkyB and Virgin Media as he called for the government and its regulator Ofcom to force the pay TV firms to pay to broadcast ITV’s shows. Under the current model pay TV operators Sky, Virgin Media, BT and TalkTalk all broadcast the UK’s so-called Public [...]