Revealed: Britain’s best and worst parcel delivery firms January 27, 2017 Buying things over the internet from the comfort of our own home is great. But spending hours waiting for them to turn up, only for the delivery person to ring the doorbell just as we pop out, is more than mildly irritating. Yep, we've all been there. Some might say enduring such a debacle is [...]
Now Microsoft’s pledged to train the UK in digital skills for free January 26, 2017 Microsoft is the latest tech giant to make a pledge to help train the UK in digital skills, following hot on the heels of Google and Amazon. It will offer free digital literacy training online for everyone in the UK and specifically target 30,000 UK public servants to improve their knowledge. It will also aim to [...]
George Orwell’s 1984 has shot to the top of bestseller lists because Trump January 25, 2017 George Orwell's 1984 may be a perennial classic, but it's been a long time since it was at the top of bestseller lists. Until now, that is… The novel, first published in 1949, has shot to the top of Amazon's best sellers list – with its rise attributed by many to the Trump administration's use [...]
Just a giant bust of Jeremy Clarkson being driven through London on a lorry… January 25, 2017 We knew Jeremy Clarkson had a big head, but now we have proof: enormous busts of Clarkson and his Grand Tour pals were spotted being transported around London on lorries today. Londoners tweeted pictures of huge stone heads of Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond being ferried past sights including Trafalgar Square and Westminster Palace [...]
Property of the Week: Restaurateur Peter Langan’s celeb haunt turned 4-bed penthouse in Mayfair January 24, 2017 This top-floor penthouse moments away from fashionable eateries Sketch and Pollen Street Social has links to a historic restaurant itself and once hosted some of Britain’s greatist contemporary artists. Built at the start of the 20th century by Ernest George, the same architect behind the grand, red brick Royal College of Music, this building on [...]
Analysts react to Dixons Carphone’s Christmas trading update January 24, 2017 Electronics retailer Dixons Carphone has reported its fifth year of Christmas sales growth, but market reaction was muted, with the company's share price falling more than three per cent in morning trading. Alistair Davies, analyst at Investec, said it was likely that Dixons Carphone had increased market share and improved its margins. There were availability issues around [...]
Softbank-owned Sprint is buying a stake in Jay Z’s Tidal January 23, 2017 Jay Z's music streaming service Tidal, a smaller rival to Spotify and Apple Music, has a new investor. Softbank-owned US telecoms firm Sprint has snapped up a 33 per cent stake in the company which the rapper acquired two years ago. That means 45m Sprint customers will now have "unlimited access" to the platform's exclusive music. Read more: The [...]
Here’s how to get £10 off orders over £50 on Amazon (but it’s only today) January 20, 2017 Amazon has been ranked top of a nationwide poll for customer satisfaction among UK brands – and to thank its customers, it's offering them discounts. Hurrah. The online retailer's UK site came top of the UK Customer Satisfaction Index, with a score of 87.3 on the index. That was followed by M&S, P&O Cruises, Greggs [...]
Deliveroo’s testing an Amazon Prime-style delivery subscription January 19, 2017 Deliveroo is testing out a new feature which has echoes of Amazon Prime – hungry users of the food delivery app can pay a subscription fee rather than a charge on each individual order. Deliveroo Plus will be tested out across six UK cities with customers paying an annual fee of £89, or a monthly fee of [...]
It isn’t just pensions: Four reasons why Royal Mail shares have failed to deliver January 19, 2017 Royal Mail's shares fell over five per cent this morning despite delivering in-line trading for the first nine months of the year. The group's problem is that its core operation – delivering letters in the UK – is shrinking. Add to this pension problems and the potential for industrial action and as Rob Byde, an analyst at [...]