#MOL! Michael O’Leary takes to Twitter again January 9, 2014 THE ARTIST known as #MOL hit Twitter once more yesterday as Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary continued his charm offensive, answering customer questions and, er, wearing a red nose. The airline boss greeted his fans with his usual stinted text speak tweeting: “MOL here. H nu yr. Luv u all x x x Hope u as [...]
How a new contact lens will free diabetics from regular blood tests January 17, 2014 A smart contact lens could be on its way to help diabetics, by entirely replacing the need for regular blood tests. The lens uses miniaturised sensors and a wireless transmitter to measure the amount of glucose in a patient's tears. Google X laboratory's device has already gone through a series of clinical research studies – [...]
Why did Apple just release a cheaper iPhone 5c? March 18, 2014 Apple added a brand new iPhone to its lineup today, but before you get too excited it’s only a marginally tweaked iPhone 5c with a reduced 8GB of storage (the previous entry model had 16GB). The impact of this change shaves £40 off the 16GB version and brings Apple’s cheapest new iPhone down to £429 [...]
Bottom Line: Give up the fantasy and settle into real life March 18, 2014 INVESTORS love an excuse to panic. No sooner had Asos revealed yesterday that margins were likely to be squeezed this year as a result of slower sales and more investment, than shareholders had run screaming for the hills – wiping more than £1bn off the retailer in early trading. Fellow online players (and stock market [...]
It’s time we put some X Factor into financial education in schools September 18, 2013 I DO not often cross paths with Gary Barlow, Nicole Scherzinger or Sharon Osbourne. I am told we move in different circles. This seemingly unusual point was brought home to me by new research showing that an 8 to 15-year old was twice as likely to be able to identify an X Factor judge as [...]
Does Nest reveal Google’s robotic ambitions? January 14, 2014 Over the past year Google has been acquiring nearly a dozen technology hardware firms – of its 20 total acquisitions – firms that make everything from airborne wind turbines to robotic dogs. While many of these companies are working on crazy projects that could take decades, if ever, to reach the market, they all point [...]
The Macan is poised for big things March 10, 2014 Porsche’s new luxury SUV could be the motor to finally take the crown from the Range Rover Evoque HAVE you ever visited a car factory? I thought not. I have, many times. Manufacturers are universally keen to show off to the media the millions – billions even – they invest in new car plants. I’m [...]
The 5 best ways commuters are beating today’s tube strikes February 5, 2014 With delayed services, and stations so crowded that they've had to be closed (and we can see why) many have decided to experiment with new ways to get to work. If you don't fancy using our guide to navigating the tube strikes, then here are some more innovative options. On your bike While this option [...]
The best response to that bogus 1929 parallels chart yet February 17, 2014 Not every permabear is in hibernation. This "scary parallel" chart, comparing the Dow Jones Industrial Average now and back in 1929 has been floating around since late last year, and it's a really great example of how not to do to charts. It's supposed to encourage the reader to think that another crash is imminent. [...]
Analyst Views: Is there any room left for Lloyds’ share price to bounce back again? February 3, 2014 IAN GORDON | INVESTEC We welcome the new realism in the unscheduled pre-results update. Before this, we had anticipated only a further £1.2bn PPI charge. With a further margin boost we see potential for upgrades to the 2014 underlying profit before tax consensus of £6.3bn. GARETH HUNT | CANACCORD GENUITY While the market will extrapolate [...]