Christmas came early: Here are all of the gifts foreign leaders gave Prime Minister David Cameron this year December 17, 2015 Two rugs, alcohol, a glass art platter and bronze coins: these are just some of the presents Prime Minister David Cameron has received from foreign leaders this year. Government papers published today reveal that Cameron received more than a dozen gifts from foreign leaders between April and September of this year. Too bad he can't [...]
Tech predictions for 2016, including apps for everything, a space trip for everyone and drones blotting out the sun December 17, 2015 What an incredible year it’s been for science and technology. No frontier has been left unexplored. No bar unraised. No envelope unpushed. Not only did we invent a new type of motorised skateboard that spontaneously bursts into flames, but Apple made a really big iPad and now our watches shout at us for being unhealthy. [...]
Hitting the brakes? Driverless cars must have a driver, says California DMV, putting bump in road for Google, Apple, Ford December 17, 2015 The development of self-driving cars has hit a bump in the road, after US authorities said they won't be allowed to hit the roads without a driver present. Regulators in California, where the majority of research and testing of autonomous vehicles is centred, said there needs to be a driver present in case the technology fails. Google is the best known [...]
Helping refugees is a tech challenge December 17, 2015 While there have been many causes worthy of our attention in 2015, the plight of Europe’s refugees and migrants has been the most visible. There are currently 20m people feeing violence and oppression around the world and many of them arrived on our continent’s shores this summer in the hope of a better life. Shocking [...]
Fintech challengers like Square, ApplePay and Funding Circle could undermine banks’ credit ratings in 2016 according to Standard & Poor’s December 16, 2015 The rise of fintech is challenging traditional banks, and could even undermine their credit rating, according to Standard & Poor's. The ratings agency expects global investment in 'non bank' financial service to be worth $24bn (£16bn) this year, double the figure in 2014. Traditional banks are still trying to adapt to the low interest rate, and [...]
Piquet restaurant in Fitzrovia is a former car-park that now serves snails to die for December 15, 2015 92-94 Newman Street, W1, piquet-restaurant.co.uk FOOD ★★★★☆ | VALUE ★★★★ | ATMOSPHERE ★★★☆☆ Cost for two with booze: £140 The part of Fitzrovia surrounding Piquet isn’t what you’d call atmospheric. At least not in a good way. To the north block after block of faceless office buildings recede into the distance; to the south lies the grubbier [...]
Ho, ho, ho: From Ed Miliband to Wikileaks, here are 10 lol-tastic City-related Christmas cracker jokes December 15, 2015 Let's face it, the anticipation of opening a Christmas cracker is always better than the rather disappointing result: inevitably, a limp hat, a toy that breaks within minutes and a joke that makes everyone groan. But groan no more: UKTV comedy channel Gold has come up with the UK's best Christmas cracker jokes. They're topical, [...]
Tech giant patent wars heading for Supreme Court: Samsung appeals patent ruling in Apple and iPhone’s favour over smartphone design December 14, 2015 The latest chapter of the tech giant patent wars sees the drama heading all the way to the US Supreme Court. Samsung appealed a patent ruling in Apple’s favour in a last-minute bid to minimise the over $500m in damages it’s been forced to pay its rival. The Korean tech giant paid $548.2m to Apple [...]
The Long Weekend review: Thyme, Gloucestershire December 14, 2015 THE WEEKEND: Nestled deep in the Cotswolds countryside, former surgeon Caryn Hibbert has spent the last 12 years gradually buying up the 14th Southrop Manor and surrounding farm buildings to create an idyllic home away from home – first for her family and then for us, the lucky public. The result is Thyme hotel with [...]
Cashless Britain: Mobile payments are transforming our society – cash could be obsolete in the UK by 2020 December 13, 2015 A woman waves her watch at the automated barrier to gain entry to the train. When she exits she will do the same and her fee will be automatically calculated. Apart from the one-time set-up of her account, she has nothing else to do. No ticket to order, no card to carry, no ticket to [...]