Black Friday 2016 history: What is it, when did it come to the UK and where will it hit next? November 1, 2016 Black Friday fever is sweeping the nation, with many retailers saying they will get some of their best sales yet. But where did the bumper discount day come from and where will it hit next? Here's a short history. Where did Black Friday come from? Black Friday – like Halloween, McDonalds and theme parks – [...]
Cyber Monday 2015 UK: Amazon has some truly pointless, unwanted and awful lightning deals – here’s eight of them November 30, 2015 Is sale season really all it's cracked up to be? Everyone loves bagging a bargain, and what better time to do that than the bonanza time of the year that is Black Friday and Cyber Monday. King of the deals days is Amazon, which far from retreating from the pre-Christmas sales period like other shops (online and [...]
Supermarket sell-off: grocers’ share prices fall as HSBC analysts predict Asda will cut prices July 6, 2016 The big grocers' share prices fell today after analysts said Asda may cut its prices, trimming the industry's profits and intensifying the supermarket price war. HSBC analyst David McCarthy said: "We believe there are signs that Asda may be about to fundamentally reposition on price, bringing down sector profits. Read more: Traders betting against troubled supermarkets "Asda has been [...]
Sky rebrands Movies to Cinema as it regroups amid growing competition from online streaming sites June 15, 2016 Broadcaster Sky is hoping a change to its popular film channels will be able to arrest the recent downward trend in its share price. TV networks around the world are battening down the hatches against a rising tide of competition. From 8 July, Sky will premiere a new film every day on its movie channels. [...]
Checking out: non-exec director waves goodbye to Morrisons after Ocado deal August 12, 2016 Irwin Lee, a non-executive director at Morrisons – and chair of the supermarket's remuneration committee – will be leaving the board at the end of August. Lee is stepping down to become the chief executive of Rustan Supercenters Inc, a supermarket chain in the Philippines, his native country. He joined Morrisons in July last year to help [...]
Stephen Hawking: Artificial intelligence research crucial to the human race October 20, 2016 The UK is about to further boost its status as a world leading centre for artificial intelligence (AI) with the launch of a new centre in Cambridge which is set to explore the implications the technology holds for humans. Officially opened by Professor Stephen Hawking on Wednesday, the £10m Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence [...]
Tapdaq co-founder Ted Nash talks Fit or Fugly, app discovery, and why virtual reality is about to change our lives forever November 28, 2016 Some people go through their whole life without finding what they’re passionate about, or only discover it later in life. I’m very fortunate because I found something I was passionate about at a very early age, and it’s become my career,” says Ted Nash, co-founder and chief executive of Tapdaq, whose platform enables app developers to [...]
Mark Zuckerberg added $1.9bn to his wealth in less than 24 hours July 28, 2016 How do you fancy making $1.9bn in less than a day? You'd need to have founded the hottest company of the last decade and exclusively wear grey T-shirts – yep, basically, be Mark Zuckerberg. Yesterday the Facebook founder was worth $53.3bn. Today, his wealth stands at an even heftier $55.2bn. Not at all bad for less than 24 [...]
Christmas gifts 2015: How late can you leave your shopping at Argos, M&S, Currys, John Lewis, Zara, Amazon, Harrods and more? December 23, 2015 Left your Christmas shopping until the last minute this year again? You’re not alone. Christmas Eve is when the real festive rush sets in, with manic shoppers dashing to get everything done before Father Christmas is due. Last year, payments processor Worldpay estimated it was the single busiest day of the year, processing 26m transactions [...]
Britons abroad have had an expensive summer – here’s how much the nation overspent due to the Brexit vote August 21, 2016 Britons on holiday abroad have overspent to the tune of roughly £500m this summer due to the fall in the value of sterling. Recent retail sales figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed Britons spent more than expected after the EU referendum – but retail strategist Richard Hyman said "when the suntan starts to fade, they will [...]