Gin is in, dumb phones are out: Meet the new ONS basket of goods for measuring inflation March 14, 2017 Poor old Nokia… no sooner has it made a comeback with the surprisingly popular 3310 than bean counters decide such "dumb phones" should be ditched from the shopping basket used to measure how prices are rising in the UK. The Office for National Statistics has revealed its annual update to its basket of goods for measuring inflation, which can be [...]
Cheltenham Festival betting tips: Limini to give Mullins an incredible ninth Mares’ Hurdle March 14, 2017 TRAINER Willie Mullins has won the last eight renewals of the Mares’ Hurdle (4.10pm) and with both LIMINI and Vroum Vroum Mag declared to line-up, I’d be shocked if he didn’t make it nine. Regular followers of this column will know how highly I rate last year’s winner Vroum Vroum Mag. Not only did I [...]
Quintessentially Group’s estates arm is expanding to New York City March 13, 2017 London-based global property group Quintessentially Estates is expanding its international referral network to New York City in a collaboration with an estate brokerage in the Big Apple. The firm is owned by Quintessentially Group, a concierge service for billionaires that's also behind the world's biggest yacht. Its estates arm specialises in sales and acquisitions of prime residential properties in [...]
Snap: Investors get spooked when you have no long term plans March 13, 2017 There are a number of reasons that, in the cold light of day, investors have become less confident about the long-term success of Snapchat. Putting aside the obvious facts that it is yet to trade anywhere near profit and is reliant on a young audience (more of that later), what are the main causes for [...]
All firms should fear the coming consumer protection crackdown March 10, 2017 There are normally a few government reviews that businesses seem to be obsessed with. Recently, this was the government’s industrial strategy; now, it is the Taylor Review into employment practices in the modern economy. But one set to increasingly occupy the minds of businesses this year is the review being conducted on consumer protection – [...]
THE ROAD TO CHELTENHAM: Vroum Vroum looks a Mag-nificent Champion Hurdle bet March 9, 2017 THEY say that a week is a long time in politics. Well, it’s even longer when it comes to the world of horseracing, as Willie Mullins demonstrated on Wednesday. Ireland’s Champion trainer had suggested only a few days ago that Limini would be supplemented for next Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle, while his other mare Vroum Vroum [...]
John Lewis tarnished by Apple Watch advertising scandal March 8, 2017 John Lewis' squeaky-clean image has been tarnished after it pulled an Apple Watch promotion from its website. The department store disappointed a customer over its Black Friday sales event when it advertised Apple Watches on sale for £249, a price-match offer which was part of the retailer's promise to be "never knowingly undersold". Read more: [...]
Part of British chipmaker Arm to be sold to Saudi-backed Softbank Vision Fund March 8, 2017 Softbank is reportedly selling part of newly acquired British chipmaker Arm to its Saudi-backed investment fund. After snapping up the firm for £24bn in a shock mega-deal just weeks after the vote to leave the European Union last June, the Japanese conglomerate is now selling a 25 per cent stake to its Vision Fund, the Financial Times reports, [...]
Now you can use Apple Pay in Ireland – just swipe your iPhone March 7, 2017 iPhone owners in Ireland rejoice – you can now get on board with Apple Pay and just swipe your phone (or Apple Watch) to make a purchase. The tech giant has launched the payment service in its sixth market in Europe, supporting Irish banking customers with Ulster Bank and KBC as well as Boon, an app [...]
Most entertainment is consumed online through access services and is not owned outright March 7, 2017 Britons now spend almost 80 per cent of their total expenditure on entertainment online and are increasingly consuming it via access services such as Spotify and mobile apps like Pokemon Go. Data from the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), which represents retailers and digital services offering music, video and games, shows that 27.6 per cent of [...]