Independence Day: Resurgence is a bewildering montage of CGI disasters and giant alien spaceships June 27, 2016 Independence Day: Resurgence is pitched as an antidote to the gritty movies ushered in by the age of the super-hero blockbuster. Sometimes, however, the cure can be worse than the disease. The original Independence Day, now 20 years old, was a bona fide cinematic event, expanding the boundaries of what was possible with CGI; the [...]
Timeline: A blow-by-blow account of how BHS’ demise unfolded June 2, 2016 One of the biggest names on the UK's high street could be about to disappear, after its administrators began the process of winding it down. The news comes after a tumultuous few months for the retailer, which announced in April that it was entering administration – just over a year after it was sold for £1 by Arcadia [...]
Andy Murray confident of success after rout of Australian Nick Kyrgios sets up battle with old rival Jo-Wilfried Tsonga July 4, 2016 Britain's Andy Murray is convinced that a third grand slam crown could be in the offing as long as he continues to showcase the form which saw him pummel Australian bad boy Nick Kyrgios on Centre Court Murray lived up to his billing as title favourite by crushing Kyrgios 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 to set up a [...]
Now Zac Goldsmith’s campaign claims it’s as quick to commute to Venice than it is to reach Bromley on the train May 3, 2016 It may be the final few days of London's mayoral election, but things are continuing to heat up – after Zac Goldsmith's campaign made some pretty strong claims about the capital's commute times. The Conservative candidate's campaign has crunched the number and discovered it takes as long for some of the capital's commuters to reach [...]
The non-Brexit bits from the Bank of England and the International Monetary Fund May 13, 2016 You may have noticed, there have been some pretty stark warnings about what Brexit could do to the UK economy this week. Both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bank of England waded into the debate arguing that a vote to leave the EU could trigger a recession. Cue outrage from Leave campaigners. But [...]
The chief executive of Sempertex explains how he came to head up the third-largest latex balloon manufacturer in the world July 18, 2016 Before his “epiphany” in 1978, Oswald Loewy had been studying chemical engineering. “One day, I suddenly realised that it was time to return home and work in the family business. My father was unwell and, although I’m one of seven, I was the eldest – the others were too young to help.” Now middle-aged, the [...]
What now for Alastair Cook and Jimmy Anderson after their latest milestones? Chasing down Sachin Tendulkar and 600 Test wickets respectively June 1, 2016 As well as England wrapping up a series-clinching victory against Sri Lanka this week, there were also some extremely impressive milestones for skipper Alastair Cook and seamer James Anderson. The question now is, how far can these guys go? At 31 years and 157 days, Cook became the youngest player in history to reach 10,000 [...]
As the Queen celebrates her ninetieth birthday tomorrow, is the country a better place than it was 90 years ago? April 20, 2016 Stian Westlake, executive director of research at Nesta, says Yes. If you hopped in a time-machine and went back to 1926, the first thing that you’d notice is how much poorer Britain was. Real GDP is 5.8 times lower than it is today. What’s more, the UK has already lost its industrial edge to upstarts in [...]
Why capitalism, not stereotypical politicians, should decide whether the London Stock Exchange merger goes ahead April 15, 2016 It's always fun to see national stereotypes on display. Bill Cash loudly insisting that the Germans are too unimaginative and inflexible to be allowed to run the London Stock Exchange. Ulrich Caspar not exactly disproving him with the insistence that any and every stock exchange must be under the control of a provincial government with the [...]
Daily Mail publisher’s share price tumbles as supermarkets pull print adverts May 26, 2016 Shares in DMGT fell by nine per cent today after the Daily Mail publisher reported a double-digit decline in print advertising led by cost-cutting supermarkets. DMGT issued a profit warning after its DMG Media division – which houses the Mail and Metro newspapers as well as Mail Online and makes up around a third of turnover – reported a four [...]