The Long View: Three reads for Christmas: Glamour, Cicero’s web and high-tech fiction December 12, 2013 I WROTE at the end of November that the rise of the selfie marked the death of the audience and the rise of an age committed to universal self-expression and performance. This week, even world leaders have been joining in. When David Cameron and Barack Obama were caught taking silly pictures of themselves at Nelson [...]
First UK Bribery Act defendants appear in court September 23, 2013 THE FIRST defendants to be charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) under the UK Bribery Act since it was introduced in 2011 appeared before Westminster Magistrates Court yesterday. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) had charged the four men connected to Sustainable AgroEnergy with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to furnish false [...]
US tech giants face trouble if Obama fails to shut down internet snooping January 14, 2014 THIS Friday, Barack Obama will decide what he intends to do about the US National Security Agency’s (NSA) covert surveillance activities on the phone and internet records of the American people. He will do so having received a coruscating report from his own review panel, recommending that he shut it down. A bunch of hard-headed [...]
Brookfield Property makes $5bn bid for 99 Bishopsgate owner September 30, 2013 BROOKFIELD Property Partners yesterday offered to buy the 49 per cent of Brookfield Office Properties (BPO) it does not already own for $5bn (£3.1bn) in a deal that would create one of the world’s largest commercial property firms. Both companies are subsidiaries of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management which manages about $175bn in power, property, infrastructure [...]
Sainsbury’s to take Tesco ad fight to court October 29, 2013 J SAINSBURY has announced it is to take Tesco to court to seek a judicial review, after the UK’s advertising watchdog twice rejected the retailer’s complaint against Tesco’s price comparison campaign. Tesco’s Price Promise scheme, launched in March, compares the cost of thousands of own-branded products against Asda, Morrisons and Sainsbury’s and offers a money-off [...]
Sky Movies deal pushes TV rivals closer together October 14, 2013 BT FINALLY inked a deal with Sky yesterday to show its premium Sky Movies channels on BT’s TV packages following three years of negotiations. Though talks between the media giants to allow Sky Sports content across all of BT’s TV offerings remain ongoing, the Sky Movies deal could indicate Sky is more willing to negotiate [...]
Kodak given approval to leave bankruptcy August 21, 2013 EASTMAN Kodak, once a mighty photography pioneer, has earned court approval for a plan to emerge from bankruptcy as a much smaller digital-imaging company. The green light from US bankruptcy judge Allan Gropper in New York puts Kodak on track to exit Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in about two weeks. “It will be enormously valuable [...]
Tesco fined in strawberry mis-selling scandal August 19, 2013 Tesco has been fined £300,000 by Birmingham Crown Court after admitting it mis-sold strawberries to the British public in a half-price deal. The supermarket admitted four counts of engaging in an unfair commercial practise over strawberry prices in 2011. The case concerns the Tesco store on Coventry Road, Sheldon, and was widened to Tesco stores [...]
First charges brought under UK Bribery Act August 15, 2013 THE UK’S fraud squad has brought its first charges under the Bribery Act since it was introduced in 2011, charging four individuals over an alleged conspiracy to commit a £23m fraud. The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) charged four men connected to Sustainable AgroEnergy with conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to furnish [...]
Join an exclusive club in the City October 10, 2013 Luxury developments are stocking up on facilities normally found in five-star hotels HOLIDAYS are great. Want to go to the gym without stepping outside in jogging bottoms? Fancy a swim at 2am? Want to relax in your own private bar? And on top of that, there’s someone on the end of the phone waiting to [...]