Rate of home ownership in the UK may be much lower than official data suggests, claims think tank December 27, 2016 The level of home ownership in the UK may be lower than conventional rates suggest, with many more now renting, according to new research. Many people now share ownership of a property or live as lodgers, suggest the Resolution Foundation think tank, meaning an official estimate of a 64 per cent home ownership rate may be [...]
Christmas Day online shopping will peak at this surprisingly late time for the post-millennial “Generation Z” December 25, 2016 Most people will be aiming to put their feet up after Christmas lunch today and zone out in front of the TV – but there's one group of people who will be driving a late-night shopping boom this evening. Not content with their new stash of presents, "Generation Z", the post-millennial cohort who were born in [...]
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho tempted by China’s riches but wants long-term Old Trafford stay December 21, 2016 Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho admits he is tempted by the riches on offer in Chinese football but insists he wants to remain in the Old Trafford hotseat for the foreseeable future. Contrary to speculation, former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan manager Mourinho is adamant the club have not offered him fresh terms, although [...]
A UK research centre disproved the US Surgeon General’s claim of a link between the popularity of e-cigarettes and a desire to smoke among young people December 21, 2016 Electronic cigarettes were the 10th fastest growing product of 2016, growing almost £30m in sales, an increase of 20 per cent to £174.6m, a new study by Nielsen found. As the product's popularity surged, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released his first government review earlier this month. Murthy cautioned against the use e-cigarettes, saying they posed a public health concern for [...]
Saint Joan at the Donmar is a stylish but forgettable modern retelling of the Bernard Shaw classic December 21, 2016 Gemma Arterton is the star attraction in this stylish but ultimately forgettable production of Bernard Shaw’s dense and unusual play. The action is positively shoehorned into the present day, with the court of the future King Charles becoming a trading house called Dauphin Holdings. This unexpected twist provides the backdrop for some excellent early jokes, [...]
Time to kill over the holidays? Here are the best games of 2016 December 21, 2016 Superhot A first-person shooter in which time only moves when you move, Superhot strips down gunfights to the fundamentals. Each level is a short Jon Woo-style action film vignette – a bar brawl, a heist – in which you plan your moves precisely, dodging gunfire and grabbing weapons in mid-air as they fly from the [...]
Jonny Bairstow, that World Twenty20 final and Virat Kohli: Chris Tremlett’s guide to the best of 2016 December 21, 2016 England player of the year It took Jonny Bairstow a while to find his feet in Test cricket but he has dug England out of trouble on many occasions this year. The 27-year-old didn’t score a century in his first 21 Tests but racked up three during 2016 as well as eight half centuries. He [...]
Meet Tom Vernon, the former Manchester United scout and founder of Africa’s top football academy out to turn the sport on its head December 21, 2016 There is something extraordinary about the union between FC Nordsjaelland, an unremarkable Danish first division football club to the north-west of Copenhagen, and the Right To Dream academy in Ghana. It is not just because the club, from the modest 19,000-person town of Farum, is some 5,000 miles away from Right To Dream’s football-oriented residential [...]
Johan Goosen: Players retiring from rugby early should not be a shock December 21, 2016 Last week, Racing 92 announced the “shock” retirement of 24-year-old fly-half Johan Goosen, the reigning Top 14 player of the year – a significant achievement in a league boasting multiple superstars. Goosen reportedly decided to leave the club to become a commercial director in his native South Africa, although one might be forgiven for wondering [...]
Atom banks on consumers’ dis-appisfaction with traditional retail banks December 21, 2016 The launch of Atom bank earlier this year was a watershed for both the finance and technology sectors. It is the first British bank with no branches and no call centres as everything is done through an app on customers’ phones. Around 30,000 people have signed up for Atom so far. While these numbers by [...]