From banking to barista: Meet Notes director Edward Halfon February 8, 2015 Mass-produced coffee is out: new, hip speciality cafes are in. Former financier Edward Halfon tells Annabel Denham how the founders of food and wine “destination” Notes plan to indulge our ever-evolving taste buds. Recent research from the small business website Startups.co.uk found that “cult cafes” will become the hottest business opportunity over the next 12 [...]
Zoopla share price rises 12 per cent with OnTheMarket disappointing as estate agents stay loyal to rivals January 27, 2015 Agents' Mutual online property portal OnTheMarket has got off to a bit of a soft start, largely thanks to estate agents sticking with its rivals Zoopla and Rightmove. Investors took note with Zoopla's share price closing up as much as 12.1 per cent to 190 pence in late afternoon trading. Meanwhile – Rightmove's share price was [...]
The politics of fear is a risky game – Editor’s Letter January 15, 2015 The Prime Minister criticised online encryption this week, on the back of the Charlie Hebdo massacre, in words that appeared to threaten a ban. In the words of tech Twitter guru @SwiftOnSecurity “Politicians: The kind of people who think they can ban math.” But to many businesses this was no joke. One City FinTech startup, [...]
Angela Merkel and Syriza are about to open Pandora’s box: Watch out, Eurozone January 11, 2015 It is not often that I feel sorry for German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Having lived in her country since 2006, for me she is the most overrated of modern politicians, having accomplished almost nothing in terms of substantive policy achievements, while somehow being lionised for her lack of ambition. She is the archetype of this [...]
Ed Miliband accuses British businesses of recruiting workers at “slave wages” January 5, 2015 Labour leader Ed Miliband has kicked off his party's election campaign with a major speech in Manchester setting out his party's offer to the British people. Miliband tackled many themes of his leadership, including the cost of living and the NHS. He also didn't make the mistake of forgetting to mention the deficit or immigration [...]
2015 resolutions: Ten pledges to put Britain back on a sustainable footing January 4, 2015 It's that time of the year when, having over-indulged over the holiday period, we promise to do better over the next 12 months. Our political leaders have over-indulged for a good deal longer than just a few days, and we can see the cost in the state of the public finances and falling standards [...]
Keeping chocolate prices down: A huge greenhouse in Reading could save the world’s cocoa supply through new genetic material January 2, 2015 With demand for chocolate outstripping supply at an unprecedented rate, its price is set to soar in 2015. But a giant greenhouse in Reading has come to the rescue, and could stop chocolate from becoming the preserve of the very wealthy. The International Cocoa Quarantine Centre has been in operation for one month and [...]
The four most shocking things that happened in 2014 December 23, 2014 1. THE RUSSIA SAGA (Source: Getty) Russia flexed its muscles at the beginning of the year, taking the opportunity during the uprising in Ukraine to plant pro-Putin flags in the Crimea region, triggering a string of catastrophic events to unfold. And it’s likely we’re far from seeing the final act of this epic Russian novel play [...]
UK closes in on full £4.5bn repayment from IceSave December 18, 2014 The remains of failed bank Landsbanki yesterday paid another £1.36bn to the UK government, returning money that the Treasury paid out during the financial crisis. Landsbanki’s online UK arm IceSave had attracted deposits from 230,000 Britons through attractive interest rates, with firms, councils and savers putting their cash into the accounts. But when it crashed, [...]
Mansion tax fears and stamp duty changes send the world’s super-rich to London’s rental market December 7, 2014 Anxieties over the outcome of the 2015 general election and new stamp duty reforms are persuading the world’s super-rich to rent property in London rather than buy it outright, according to a new report. London’s lettings market has benefitted from a huge bump in prime rentals, with as much as 21 per cent of [...]