The financial A to Z of Scottish independence – CNBC Comment September 15, 2014 A new, independent Scotland might flummox a foreign visitor. So it’s lucky this financial A to Z has turned up – even if some say it’s a parody of the Better Together campaign. A: Alex – Scotland’s official unit of currency, though largely superseded by an informal bartering system, where one barrel of oil [...]
Car review: Frontline Developments’ MG Abingdon Edition is a very fast blast from the past September 2, 2014 To be perfectly honest, when I was driving this car, I hadn’t realised quite how much it costs. Probably for the best, because had I known it was nearly £96,000 I might not have enjoyed chucking it around the Oxfordshire countryside quite so readily. And since this stands as one of my drives of the [...]
World Cup in brief June 17, 2014 Online abuse for wrong Neville A RADIATOR salesman named Phil Neville, 60, has been bombarded with abuse on Twitter following his namesake’s much-criticised commentary debut in England’s defeat to Italy, for which the BBC received 445 complaints. Uruguay craving caramel snack URUGUAY fans have blamed the confiscation of the players’ favourite snack at customs for their [...]
Boris Johnson avoids talking tennis by pulling on his sparring gloves July 24, 2014 It looks like the “will he, won’t he” tennis match between Boris Johnson and the Chernukhins (the Russian couple who paid £160,000 at a fundraiser to play BoJo and David Cameron) will go ahead, after Boris said he was going to get in training for it yesterday. Now we think we know how he’s getting [...]
City athlete switches from PwC to Team GB at triathlon world championships July 23, 2014 Mark Carney isn’t the only one in the City getting excited about the Commonwealth Games, PwC’s Mike Essex will be watching today’s triathlon with heightened interest – the senior PwC manager will be competing for his country himself come the end of next month. Essex, who turned 40 in March, will compete for Team GB [...]
Stepping down Justin King heading for World Cup final June 25, 2014 Speculation about what Justin King, chief exec of Sainsbury’s, will do after he steps down next month has been rife – will he replace Ecclestone? Will he step into Bolland’s shoes? Will he go back to selling Haagen-Dazs? Well, we can’t reveal what his next career move is, but we do know what he’s doing [...]
The five questions Obama must answer to prove Iraq disasters won’t be repeated September 11, 2014 We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the kind of political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.” – John F Kennedy, Profiles in Courage I HAVE a theory about those of us engaged in politics or political analysis; each of us will have a “Profiles in Courage” [...]
Apple Pay launches: Why mobile payment is about take off October 21, 2014 Apple Pay, the tech giant's mobile payment service, has launched in the US offering users the ability to pay for items using just their mobile phone. It kicks of the most high-profile launch in the nascent mobile payment space, which could finally push it into the mainstream. A mobile wallet is perhaps the best way [...]
Group exit looms, predict statisticians June 10, 2014 OPTIMISTIC England fans look away now: the Three Lions only have a four per cent chance of winning the World Cup this summer, according to number-crunching experts. Roy Hodgson’s men are most likely to exit the tournament at the group stage, while Wayne Rooney is the man set to be at the centre of all [...]
Serious strategy: What chess can teach businesses August 25, 2014 Stay on the lookout for “strong squares”, and be ready to sacrifice. There's a rich history of corporate strategists turning to board and card games to hone their skills. Bill Gates and Warren Buffett are keen bridge players, and Business Insider drew up a list of 28 US executives who are strong chess players. [...]