North Korea calls Seth Rogen’s new film The Interview an “act of war” June 25, 2014 North Korea has branded a new action-comedy film starring Seth Rogen and James Franco as "a most wanton act of terror and act of war", according to an AFP report. The Interview, which is expected to be released in the US on 14 October, is about a talk show host and his producer who land an [...]
Bluewater shopping centre sold for £696m June 25, 2014 Land Lease, an Australian Developer with interests across the UK, has sold its 30 per cent stake in Bluewater shopping centre for £696m to Land Securities Group. The deal is expected to net the company A$480m (around £265m). The proceeds from the sale will go to pay down debts and fund investments in development projects [...]
Manchester City owners to invest £1bn in 6,000-home project June 25, 2014 Abu Dhabi United Group (ADUG), the private equity firm that owns Manchester City Football Club, is set to build 6,000 houses in Manchester in a deal worth £1bn. The development will be part of a 10-year agreement with Manchester City council which will see the rejuvenation of several of the city's previously run down areas, [...]
Teenagers’ use of Facebook not on the decline – report June 24, 2014 Maybe Facebook isn't too cool for school after all. While much research in the past year has pointed to Facebook experiencing a drop in the numbers of teenagers using it, a new report by Forrester Research seems to point to a revival. The company asked a sample of 4,517 teenagers how they used social media, and [...]
Alibaba to raise $26bn in largest ever IPO June 24, 2014 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba could be set to raise $26bn in a record-breaking initial public offering, according to a report published by Morning Star, an independent investment researcher. The report estimates that the company will be valued at a record $220bn, putting the 12 per cent stake reported to be offered at the IPO at around [...]
Mortgage approvals fall on introduction of tighter lending rules June 24, 2014 Mortgage approval rates showed an overall drop in the month of May, according to new data. Figures from the British Bankers' Association show that the combined figure of loans for purchase, for remortgage and other secured lending, was down both on last month and on May of last year. The fall is a relatively small [...]
iPhone 6: New handset to be thinner, rounder and have a bigger screen June 24, 2014 Apple could be set to begin production of new, larger iPhones next month according to Bloomberg. The new devices are said to boast screens of 4.7 and 5.5 inches in size, a significant increase on the four inch display currently used by the iPhone 5s. The Bloomberg article, which cites people familiar with the company, [...]
Yo app reaches 1m users June 23, 2014 Yo, the instant messaging app which takes communication to a reductionist extreme, has passed the 1m user milestone. Using Yo, you can send a message saying "yo" to anyone else who also has the mobile app – but nothing more. Despite being hacked last week, users have continued to flock to the app. Yo sent a tweet [...]
UK house price rises: should we copy Germany’s rental model? June 23, 2014 As fears continue to circulate that the UK housing market may be overheating, is it time to take some tips from our European friends when it comes to renting property? First let's take a look at how high property prices really are in the UK when compared to other countries in Europe. The best way [...]
FireChat: What is it and how does it work? June 23, 2014 FireChat, a messaging app designed to work without internet or cellular connections, is becoming increasingly popular in Iraq as the government continues to restrict internet usage. According to the Financial Times, there were 40,000 downloads of the app in Iraq last week, despite the fact the country has no iTunes store. User numbers in Iran [...]
