EasyJet soars above turbulence with rising passenger numbers August 6, 2014 Budget airline EasyJet has reported a strong rise in passenger numbers of 7.7 per cent to 6.4m for the month of July and a rise of 5.9 per cent to 63.8m for the 12 months ending July. The figures will be welcome news to the company which recently forecast annual profits for the year to [...]
Arrest made after Qatar Airways plane escorted by fighter jets to Manchester airport August 5, 2014 A man has been arrested on the suspicion of making hoax bomb threat after an incident at Manchester airport. The Qatar Airways Airbus A330, flight number QR23, was escorted into Manchester Airport by RAF fighter jets after "information received by the pilot about a possible device on board". Greater Manchester police confirmed the arrest after [...]
Boris Johnson dismisses Uber as “excessively bumptious” August 5, 2014 London Mayor Boris Johnson has criticised the attitude of San-Fransico based firm Uber as "excessively bumptious." Johnson, speaking on LBC, added that he didn't like the way Uber were "moving into London and claiming they could take all this business away from black cabs." The company's rapid growth and penchant for innovation have clearly not conformed [...]
Francois Hollande calls on ECB to fight deflationary risk in Europe August 5, 2014 French president Francois Hollande has implored the European Central Bank (ECB) to do more to support growth and employment and combat a "real deflationary risk" in Europe. In an interview with LeMonde, Hollande argued that "weak inflation too has negative fiscal consequences on revenues as well as debt. A lot will depend on the level [...]
InterContinental Hotels profits drop but reports best half for signings in six years August 5, 2014 InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) has reported a drop in profit before tax of 18.4 per cent for the six months ended June 30. Falling profits for the world's largest hotelier were largely expected due to a number of one-off factors, including the falling profit from asset disposals. IHG was able to report its best half [...]
Britcoin surging: A digital currency that claims to uphold “British morals” August 4, 2014 Another day and another cryptocurrency is surging. However, this crypto is not one that has received the attention of Bitcoin, Darkcoin, Peercoin – and understandably so given its size and age. This month-old crypto is none other than Britcoin, a digital currency that "upholds British morals", according to its creator William Thomas. Quite how a decentralised [...]
Daily video gaming can be good for children, says Oxford study August 4, 2014 Playing video games in short bursts every day could have a positive impact on child development, according to a study by Oxford University published in the journal of Pediatrics. Young people between the age of 10 and 15 who spent just under an hour a day playing video games reported better outcomes on a host [...]
HSBC profits fall as bank adds $194m to PPI costs August 4, 2014 HSBC has reported a fall in pre-tax profits of 12 per cent to $12.3bn for the first half of 2014, slightly below expectations and barely moving the bank's share price. Revenue also took a hit, falling by four per cent to $31.4bn. Pre-tax profit in Asia was particularly hard hit, falling by close to 15 [...]
EU Commission president racks up €649,336 in travel expenses August 2, 2014 In 2012, President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso racked up travel expenses three times as high as the EU's head of foreign policy Catherine Ashton, according to a freedom of information request filed by EUobserver. Barroso's travel expenses in 2012 amounted to an eye-watering €649,336.72, more than double the expenses he filed in [...]
Mary Queen of Shops flagship scheme failing to make an impact August 2, 2014 Mary Portas' government funded scheme to restore the high street has failed to have a significant impact, reports Sky News. Portas' high street revival project received £1.2m in public funding and focused on 12 town centres. Wolverhampton was one those chosen to pilot the scheme and received £100,000. The results were mixed, with five retail [...]
