Should you invest in crowdfunding? June 1, 2016 From craft beer to knitting and films, crowdfunding allows you to invest in the things which matter to you. It’s grown massively in the last five years and revolutionised the possibilities for start-up businesses. Rather than rely on friends for their generosity, or wait months for a bank to say no to a loan, entrepreneurs have [...]
I, for one, welcome our imminent driverless car overlords May 18, 2016 The only way we’d know that the government was any more on board with driverless cars was if the Queen had pulled up to the Houses of Parliament today in the back of one rather than in a horse drawn carriage. It's no wonder, considering the interest from the likes of Google, Apple and the majority of major car makers, that [...]
Space tourism, driverless cars and drones set for Queen’s Speech lift off May 15, 2016 New plans for driverless cars on Britain's roads are to be announced in the Queen's speech this week, as are proposals for creating an ambitious UK-based space tourism industry by 2018 along with drone-friendly innovations. “Driverless cars and commercial space flight might seem like something science fiction, but the economic potential of the new technology is huge [...]
This is how many people will ditch their car insurer this year, as the costs of premiums continue to rise May 4, 2016 It's not you, car insurers. It's the constant rise in premiums. More than 11m drivers will leave their car insurer in 2016, as rising premiums boost people's incentive to shop around, a study out today has found. According to the figures from Consumer Intelligence, the average quote for car insurance has risen by £22 this year, [...]
Star Fox Zero review: a multi-screen mess that asks too much and gives too little April 27, 2016 Star Fox Zero is a game about a cool fox who flies around in space shooting bad guys with his animal friends: a hateful bird, some kind of terrible frog and an incompetent rabbit. The game is largely similar to the Star Fox games of old – the 1993 SNES classic Starwing and its 1997 [...]
Three technologies which will change the world April 14, 2016 “Disruptive technologies” – a phrase we are hearing increasingly, but what does it mean for infrastructure and the world around us? How and when should we – business, industry, engineers, policymakers, academia– respond and how do we keep up? New technologies are emerging at a seemingly relentless pace. The McKinsey Global Institute’s definition spells it out. Disruptive [...]
This is where Brits spend the most money buying their first car (spoiler alert: it’s not London) April 11, 2016 Supercar season may be just getting under way in the city, but for all the golden Lambourghinis causing congestion in Knightsbrige, Londoners on average don't spend as much on their first cars as you'd think. Scotland is the real home of Britain's petrol heads, as new drivers north of the wall spend the most on their [...]
Is SEAT’s new Leon the new hot-hatch hero? April 11, 2016 For many, the 1980s were the halcyon days of the hot hatchback. Yet as the next decade dawned, joyriding, ramraiding and soaring insurance premiums brought this go-faster fairytale to an abrupt end. Until now. We’re currently in the midst of a second golden age for the hot hatch. And while classic heroes like the Peugeot [...]
Slow and steady for the FTSE 100 as it stumbles into Monday, edging up in early morning trading April 4, 2016 The FTSE struggled to get going this morning with a so-so start to the first full week of the new financial year. The blue-chip index crawled up 12 points in the first hour of trading to stand at 6,158, after slipping back at the end of last week from its highest close of the year [...]
From cuts to capital gains tax to a review of the “salary sacrifice” scheme: Here’s what you missed from Budget 2016 March 23, 2016 Eye-catching schemes like the sugar tax, the lifetime Isa and cuts to corporation tax may have grabbed the headlines following last week’s Budget. But a number of the Treasury’s other announcements could impact directly on employees, savers and investors. Here’s a run-down of the best of the rest. REDUCTIONS TO CAPITAL GAINS TAX In two [...]