General Election 2015: A Labour government could turn to Michael Heseltine, says Chuka Umunna April 24, 2015 Labour could turn to the business expertise of former Conservative deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine if it wins the election. Speaking to the Guardian, the shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, said Heseltine was a “visionary” whose advice could benefit Labour’s plans for regional devolution. Labour is expecting to set aside £30bn for devolution if it comes [...]
London house prices: Kensington and Chelsea is now growing more slowly than Bristol April 24, 2015 London has lost its housing crown: for the first time since 2005, central London price growth is being outpaced by cities across the UK. According to data from HomeTrack, the triple-threat of electoral uncertainty, mansion tax fears and affordability issues have conspired to slow growth in the country’s most-valuable areas. Boroughs such as Chelsea and [...]
UK house prices: Is this the return of the first-time buyer? April 23, 2015 As UK house prices have risen, so has the story of the death of the first-time buyer. New data suggests this despair may have come too soon, however. A third of people feel better placed to move home than they did 12 months ago, despite wage growth lagging far behind house price inflation. The figures [...]
UK house prices: Buyer interest surges in March despite looming General Election April 22, 2015 Home buyer demand surged in the UK during March, as almost 22 per cent more people were hunting for houses than in the previous month. The uncertainty around next month's General Election was expected to dampen demand in the market, but the figures show healthy interest – in line with seasonal trends in a non-election [...]
Tesco: The decline and fall of the supermarket giant and its share price in one chart April 22, 2015 The business world is reacting to the news that Tesco has racked up a £6.38bn loss – one of the biggest losses ever made by a UK company. The beleaguered supermarket’s pre-tax losses for the year are even higher than the £5bn markets had been expecting. There was also a big hit from the writedown of [...]
The Japanese maglev train just broke a world speed record by hitting 377mph – over 100mph faster than HS2 April 21, 2015 Japan’s super-fast magnetic levitation (maglev) train smashed the world speed record for a train today, clocking a huge 603kmph (377mph) in a test run. The train hovers four inches above the rails to decrease friction and increase speed, and was able to maintain that phenomenally high velocity for 11 seconds, beating the Chinese high speed [...]
Top Nazi Joseph Goebbels’s estate sues Random House over quotes taken from his diary April 18, 2015 The estate of one of Hitler’s most trusted Nazi’s is suing publisher Random House for Royalties. Random House published a biography of Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler’s propaganda chief, which included extensive quotes from the Nazi’s diary, the copyright to which doesn’t expire until the end of this year. Although the publisher initially agreed to pay [...]
Nigel Farage, Nicola Sturgeon, Leanne Wood to appear in BBC election specials after Ed Miliband, David Cameron, and Nick Clegg get Question Time slots April 18, 2015 Nigel Farage is to be served up to a regional audiences as part of a several BBC specials ahead of the General Election. Farage will appear in a programme in England on 30 April, the same day Nicola Sturgeon, the leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Plaid Cymru’s Leanne Wood will appear in [...]
A sharing economy must be a trusting economy April 18, 2015 Trust is the foundation stone of all transactions. We traditionally rely on meeting people and building trust over time, but in an on-demand world, we don’t have the luxury of being able to wait. We’re moving from a world where people tend to know each other and interact with a few individuals, to a world where we are constantly interacting [...]
