Cricket Comment: Underdog status in England’s favour February 11, 2015 Our new columnist on the chances of England upsetting the odds and lifting their first World Cup. England are unlikely to win the World Cup but you just never know. They are certainly going in the right direction and the chances of success are a lot higher than they were a couple of months [...]
North rested as precaution February 11, 2015 WALES have left wing George North out of the team for this weekend’s Six Nations trip to Scotland in order to give him more time to recover from two heavy blows to the head. Team doctors stressed this week that North had shown no signs of concussion despite appearing to be knocked unconscious at least [...]
Crowdfunding could transform healthcare through innovative disease diagnosis and new treatments February 11, 2015 Crowdfunding provides a unique opportunity for the development of innovations that might otherwise fall by the wayside – between the government and private companies, there is simply not enough money available to turn all promising ideas into a reality. The merits have already been shown across a range of industries – over the last few [...]
Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital wins Morgan Stanley contest February 10, 2015 Morgan Stanley has announced that Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital will become its new charity partner, after a vote by their 5,000 London employees. The bank aims to raise £1.5m over the two year partnership. Employees will raise £750,000, which will be matched by the Morgan Stanley International Foundation. The money will be used to [...]
How UK growth firms are getting the financial leg up they need to thrive February 10, 2015 The UK is experiencing a “golden age” for smaller businesses. That was the message of Lord Young’s small business report, out yesterday, which heralded a record 5.2m small firms now operating in the UK. Britain is now officially ranked as the most entrepreneurial in Europe. In recent years, we have witnessed a rising tide of [...]
It’s high time supermarkets had a radical lesson in supply chain management February 10, 2015 Every year, the supermarkets hire substantial batches of high-flying graduates to work in their buying departments. The urban mythology is that these expensively-educated young people are paid to shout down the phone, browbeating suppliers to offer yet more discounts. This hectoring seems to be at the heart of the recent decision of the Groceries Code [...]
Mix it up: London Beer Week proves there’s more to life than cocktails February 10, 2015 Every summer, the world’s young (and not so young) adorn their arms with an ever-growing number of wristbands from music festivals. Each is a trophy, a plastic testament to their summer of mud. But why should ravers be the only ones to show off? Next week, you can join in – and you won't even [...]
UK tech sector set to grow four times faster than GDP this year, and strong leadership is crucial February 10, 2015 Britain's technology sector is set to grow four times faster than GDP this year, according to a survey by Barclays. By asking owners and chief executives of technology firms across the country, the bank found that on average, businesses expected a growth of 11 per cent over the course of 2015. By comparison, [...]
Michael Hayman: Why the government’s “Help to Grow” could transform UK entrepreneurship February 10, 2015 The "Help to Grow" scheme announced today by the Prime Minister marks an important new chapter in the UK’s entrepreneur narrative. Once, we were dismissed as a nation of shopkeepers. Today that entrepreneurial spirit has supercharged the small business scene in the UK. A breathtaking statistic used by Xavier Rollet, CEO of the London [...]
Bordeaux is back on the investment table as Hong Kong buyers boost price February 9, 2015 BORDEAUX prices are back at 2010 levels, with the cost of some of the French regions’ best-known brands returning to pre-crisis peaks. Bordeaux Index, which monitors fine wine prices, said yesterday that while prices had soured in recent years, the supply excess had now “worked out of the market” and export demand is increasing again, [...]