4.7-magnitude earthquake rocks Britain: Eyewitnesses describe “loud bang” as Wales bares the brunt of tremors February 17, 2018 A 4.7-magnitude earthquake has rocked parts of Wales and western England. The seismic event took place shortly after 2.30pm today. The epicentre was just 10km from Swansea but shocks were felt from Cornwall to Blackpool. There are currently no reported casualties Over 1,000 people have contacted the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC) to provide testimonies. Map [...]
MPs’ recess shows how little dialogue goes on normally – and we’re all the poorer for it February 16, 2018 Parliament was on one of its many breaks this week, although some news still emerged from a sleepy Westminster. Boris Johnson popped up to provide some light relief and a smidgen of Brexit policy hints, while Jeremy Corbyn was the subject of two high profile stories – an expose of his historical Soviet connections and [...]
Winter Olympics 2018: Elise Christie buoyed by support from Jess Ennis-Hill and Kelly Holmes February 15, 2018 Speed skater Elise Christie insists she is over her Winter Olympics heartache thanks to messages of support from British Olympic heroes Jess Ennis-Hill and Kelly Holmes. Christie, one of Team GB’s leading medal hopes in Pyeongchang, was devastated after crashing and finishing fourth in the 500m short-track final on Tuesday. But the Scot has overcome [...]
What really caused the FTSE 100 “wobble” February 15, 2018 Investment commentators clearly dusted off their thesauruses before they spoke to the media to describe the behaviour of financial markets over the last week. "Tumble", "pullback", "pause for breath"? "Shake-out", "setback", "wobble", "plunge"? "Breather", "sell-off", "rout", "correction"? Or perhaps you would prefer a good, old-fashioned "opportunity"? The explanations for the 'sell-off' have been equally as [...]
Europe’s economy is booming but its politics risk boiling over February 15, 2018 Could European political instability derail its economic recovery? It’s a question plenty of people in the markets are asking themselves at the moment. Germany remains without a functioning government. Martin Schultz, leader of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) resigned on Tuesday despite – or because of – reaching agreement with Angela Merkel to enter a [...]
Should the 21st Century Fox bid to take over Sky go ahead if Sky News is made independent? February 15, 2018 Should the 21st Century Fox bid to take over Sky go ahead if Sky News is made independent? YES – Liz Duff, head of media and investment at Total Media. This is something of a no-brainer. The Murdochs’ control of the news media in the UK was the main concern from the CMA – and [...]
John McDonnell probably brings devilled eggs to dinner parties February 15, 2018 I wonder if John McDonnell arrives at dinner parties with devilled eggs? Or perhaps he’s partial to a prawn cocktail? Maybe a bottle of Blue Nun? I wonder only because of his plan to nationalise “core industries”. British cuisine and the British economy have, thankfully, evolved and adapted in the last thirty years. But given [...]
Closing the entrepreneurial gender gap requires us all to take action February 14, 2018 British men are nearly twice as likely as women to be entrepreneurs. This isn’t just bad for entrepreneurship, but society at large suffers when the ideas of half the population aren’t adequately represented. Closing the gender entrepreneurship gap would ensure we no longer miss out on countless innovations, increase productivity, and raise wages. A report [...]
Sky and BT Sport pay £4.46bn to share Premier League TV rights for 160 games between 2019/20 and 2021/22 February 13, 2018 After years of extraordinary revenue growth, the Premier League has sold its latest package of live TV games to Sky and BT Sport for a reduced per-match rate. The two media giants will pay a combined £4.46bn to televise 160 matches per season, between 2019/20 and 2021/22. Three years ago, Sky and BT Sport paid [...]
Fitness advice: What to look for in a personal trainer, from education to adaptability February 13, 2018 There’s a reason all the top sports stars have a coach. Having a professional with you throughout your fitness journey should give you the motivation, accountability and education to push further than you could by yourself. I say “should” because there are some truly terrible personal trainers out there. Every time I go to [...]