The business that called “bulls***” on Black Friday December 16, 2014 Britons descended into Black Friday madness this year in the scrum to get a cheap telly, but in the States – where the phenomenon has been going much longer – one business called “bulls***” on the whole thing. Literally. Party game Cards Against Humanity – if you don't know, it is really not suitable [...]
Farewell corporate power: How the rise of the blockchain could change everything December 15, 2014 OUR WORLD is full of third parties – the people and organisations that regulate and manage our interactions. The financial world is particularly replete: conduct authorities, prudential bodies, central banks. Even commercial financial institutions themselves often operate as little more than giant third parties, co-ordinating the connections between millions of lenders and borrowers. However, a [...]
Britain will stagnate if we fail to address our digital skills shortage December 14, 2014 THE SCALE of technological advance over the last two decades has been staggering, and it looks set to continue. According to the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness report, there will be 30bn devices connected to the internet by 2020, roughly four times the size of the estimated global population. In recent years, several companies have been [...]
With Lending Club’s IPO capping off another string of tech floats, is the sector in a bubble? December 14, 2014 Jasper Lawler is market analyst at CMC Markets, says Yes. Tech stocks are not seeing the same excesses as in the dot-com boom. But there are some clear parallels to be drawn, and lofty valuations support exercising caution. The dot-com bubble was characterised by the boom and bust of Pets.com, and in 2014 we’ve seen [...]
William and Kate meet Jay-Z and Beyonce: How Brand Royal has finally entered the 21st century December 14, 2014 This week New Yorkers went mad for Will and Kate as they took a trip to the Big Apple for the first time. Crowds were out in force, media coverage blanketed the channels, hoards of people desperate to catch a glimpse. It was almost as if The Beatles had arrived once again. It’s incredible [...]
Smartphones compared: How much storage do they really have? December 13, 2014 Most smartphones do not have as much free storage available as the companies that produce them claim, according to a new study by reviewing service Which? By looking at eight of the most popular smartphones, they found that a phone with an advertised 16 gigabytes of storage could have as little as 10 gigabytes [...]
Google Tax to prompt tech giants to kill Irish tax deals as government cracks down on avoidance tactics December 10, 2014 Rules, detailed by the government yesterday, aimed at clamping down on tax avoidance by tech giants including Google and Apple, could force US multinationals to start winding down “artificial arrangements” used to divert profits abroad. “What they’re trying to do is say ‘if you have a UK presence and if you are making UK sales, [...]
Is there ever an excuse to use PowerPoint in a presentation? December 10, 2014 Is there ever an excuse to use PowerPoint in a presentation? First of all, what is a presentation? It’s not a pitch. Pitches and presentations are different things. A pitch is a courtship – the (hopeful) beginning of a relationship. A presentation is the transfer of knowledge, facts, data etc within an existing relationship. [...]
Geopolitical fears weigh on Wall Street – New York Report December 9, 2014 THE S&P 500 ended nearly flat yesterday as concerns about global weakness and political turmoil were offset by gains in technology and energy shares. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 51.28 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 17,801.2, the S&P 500 lost 0.49 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 2,059.82. However, the Nasdaq Composite added [...]
Energy index and China data drag US stocks – New York Report December 8, 2014 THE S&P posted its biggest daily percentage drop since 22 October yesterday as oil’s slump to a five-year low caused a selloff in energy shares. Worries about global growth added to the bearish tone. Data showed China’s exports grew at a slower-than-expected pace and imports dropped in November, while Japan’s economy shrank more than expected [...]