Bitcoin mining explained: How does it work? Why does it use so much energy? Is there any way to fix it? December 7, 2017 All eyes are on bitcoin at the moment. The cryptocurrency has staged a meteoric rise in 2017 that has attracted new investors, but, for many, question marks still surround bitcoin and the technology behind it. With recent reports pointing to the high energy cost associated with mining, the process used to create bitcoin, is there [...]
Battery storage is poised to recharge the UK’s energy sector over the next year November 17, 2017 So far, 2017 has been a year of milestones for clean forms of energy. The National Grid said this summer was the greenest ever, offshore wind became cheaper than new nuclear and the country’s first subsidy-free solar farm opened. Energy experts are also expecting to see a huge uptick in the number of electric vehicles [...]
DEBATE: With CO2 at record levels, does the UK need to prioritise clean energy? November 13, 2017 With CO2 at record levels, does the UK need to prioritise clean energy? Greg Jackson, founder of challenger energy firm Octopus Energy, says YES. It’s a stark reality that air pollution kills 40,000 people in this country every year. If the bodies lay where the problem did, your morning commute would be grisly. The scandal [...]
The trials and tribulations of tapping new tech November 7, 2017 "Neither Redbox nor Netflix are even on the radar screen in terms of competition.” Those are the words of Jim Keyes, the former chief executive of video rental giant Blockbuster back in 2008. Just five years after Keyes made that statement, Blockbuster went bust, swallowed whole by the mighty online streaming service that is Netflix. [...]
Business groups give Corbyn the thumbs down after CBI speech November 6, 2017 Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s overtures to the business community have fallen on deaf ears this morning, with industry groups warning his policy pledges would undermine economic growth. Speaking at the annual CBI conference, Corbyn reiterated Labour’s plans to create a National Investment Bank and a National Education Service, and talked of “investing” in transport, energy [...]
Think locally, invest globally: Why Brexit isn’t the calamity some fear November 1, 2017 A year after the Brexit vote, the UK has managed to avoid a bear market and recession. Still, global diversification remains a key tool for investors. Fifteen months after Brits voted to leave the EU, the UK government is slowly ploughing ahead with Brexit. Invoking Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty in March was the [...]
The future may be powered by data, but it must be piloted by humans October 24, 2017 Of the six most valuable companies in the world, five are tech firms, whose worth is embodied less in physical assets than in intellectual property and customer data. Apple and Microsoft provide the tools to connect people, and to collect and process data. Google, Facebook and Amazon provide services, and in return accumulate more data [...]
Everything Under Heaven: Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road could cement China as the world’s superpower October 19, 2017 “Everything under heaven is in utter chaos; the situation is excellent,” wrote Mao Zedong in his little red book. With every crisis comes opportunity, he thought. The motto is as apt today as it was half a century ago. As an increasingly isolated America crawls from the world stage, the EU grapples with internal conflicts. [...]
The West End wins big property deals as London office space take-up soars October 16, 2017 Take-up of office space in central London surpassed a 10-year average in the third quarter this year. Central London take-up was 3.4m sq ft, marking a quarterly increase of three per cent, and beating a 10-year average of 3.1m sq ft, according to the latest figures from global real estate advisor CBRE. The largest deal [...]
Energy price cap: Government’s temporary cap on energy prices to run until 2020 October 12, 2017 The government will today publish draft legislation to cap energy prices until at least 2020 in an effort to reduce bills for millions of households. Under the bill, energy regulator Ofgem will be required to consult and impose an absolute price cap on standard variable tariffs (SVTs), which are default tariffs that can cost hundreds [...]