Beware fake hoverboards: Counterfeit goods are no longer cheap imitations confined to the black market December 16, 2015 Only a few months ago, hoverboard hysteria swept the nation. Endorsements by celebrities from Lily Allen to Usain Bolt led to a massive rush of pre-orders and John Lewis swiftly ran out of stock. However, there is also a dark side to all of this excitement: the seizure of more than 15,000 hoverboards imported into [...]
Alberto Contador interview: El Pistolero sets sights on Chris Froome and aims for Tour de France victory in his final season December 16, 2015 It seems like an incomplete comeback. On paper, Alberto Contador is the best grand tour rider of his generation. The Spaniard has won seven, including two Tours de France. Those numbers jump to nine and three if, as Contador does, you count the titles he was stripped of after failing a drug test. Yet El [...]
Fed rate hike: What you need to know about ahead of Janet Yellen’s big decision on US interest rates, from why it’s important to when it’s announced December 16, 2015 The world is waiting on tenterhooks for the outcome of the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy meeting, with the US central bank widely expected to announce its first interest rate hike in nearly a decade tonight. Barring “unanticipated shocks”, Fed members are expected to vote to lift rates by quarter to half a percentage point from their current historic low. After [...]
Are consumers about to give Sports Direct the boot? December 16, 2015 Sports Direct has been occupying a lot of newspaper inches recently – and not for good reasons. It has also been the subject of a debate in parliament. An investigation into its working practices at its warehouses found employees saying it was like working in a “gulag”. The brand was also described by Simon Walker of the Institute [...]
Walt Disney, Hasbro and Cineworld: These Star Wars stocks will benefit from the force December 15, 2015 Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the seventh movie from George Lucas’s Star Wars franchise will hit cinema screens this week. It is almost 40 years since the original movie was released in 1977. The film is out in the UK on 17 December, then a day later in the US and in China in early [...]
Star Wars 7 The Force Awakens spoilers: Chrome extension Force Block is the only alert tool you need to stop them December 15, 2015 It's finally here. After years of waiting, the biggest ever movie franchise follow up, Star Wars VII The Force Awakens, is hitting cinema screens. But with such hype comes one great risk to film-lovers – the spoiler, or the chance of someone letting slip the plot details. "Spoilers are the path to the dark side. Spoilers lead to anger. [...]
Move over Mog and Man of the Moon: Science says we loved Harvey Nichols’ “gift face” more than the Sainsburys and John Lewis Christmas adverts in 2015 December 15, 2015 Move over Mog and Man on the Moon, it's Harvey Nichols' "gift face" Christmas advert which really connected with us and made us feel something this festive season. If you haven't seen it, the ad features a recreation of the day itself and the less than inspired gift giving which takes place on it, urging us [...]
Banks have a duty to regain public trust – and it may take a generation December 14, 2015 Trust in the financial services sector remains stubbornly low. According to the Edelman Trust Barometer, only half of the countries surveyed put their faith in financial services. And the picture is even worse for banks. From 2014 to 2015, trust in banks declined in two thirds of the countries covered, with the highest levels of [...]
Five of the most ridiculous Star Wars Force Awakens merchandising and products : From Lightsaber chopsticks to Darth Vader showerheads December 14, 2015 As the world awaits Star Wars Episode VII The Force Awakens to hit cinemas, there's one thing that might just be even bigger than the biggest flm of the year – the merchandise. The Disney machine is already churning out everything from bed covers to waffle makers and products associated with the biggest film of the [...]
That bizarre Robert Dyas Christmas ad: What were they thinking? December 14, 2015 As we inch ever closer to Christmas Day, it seemed for a moment that the snow may have settled on this year’s seasonal advertising dust-up. However, Robert Dyas’ new festive spot just dropped, proving that it’s never too late to be the centre of attention – though not necessarily for the right reasons. Roundly ridiculed [...]