Let there be light: The top lighting trends from this autumn’s design shows September 20, 2019 Lighting is “one of the most important elements of interior design. It can completely transform the look and feel of a room,” says Martin Waller, who founded the influential British brand Andrew Martin four decades ago. The importance of good, versatile lighting is as true today as it was then, although we have vastly more [...]
Bank of England governor appointment set to be delayed September 18, 2019 The highly-anticipated appointment of a new Bank of England governor could be delayed until after a general election. The successor to Mark Carney is not likely to be decided by the current autumn deadline, according to reports in the FT. Carney, whose time on Threadneedle Street is set to come to an end on 31 [...]
Apple apologises for listening to Siri conversations August 28, 2019 Apple has apologised after it emerged the tech giant allowed contractors to listen to conversations customers had with its voice assistant Siri. Workers are hired to grade Siri’s responses on a variety of factors in order to help the technology “learn”, however, last month it was revealed that contractors regularly picked up recordings of private [...]
Extinction Rebellion protesters flout ban to march on Trafalgar Square October 16, 2019 Extinction Rebellion protesters are set to march to Trafalgar Square today despite a ban on any demonstrations inside London. The Metropolitan Police had initially ordered protesters to confine action to the London landmark but late on Monday night evicted protesters camped there and banned XR protests from the capital. Read more: Extinction Rebellion protesters target [...]
MPs urge clarity from Sajid Javid over appointment timetable for Bank of England governor September 18, 2019 An influential group of MPs has demanded a timetable from the chancellor for the appointment of the next Bank of England governor. Following reports that the successor to Mark Carney is not likely to be decided by the current autumn deadline, the Treasury committee has today written to Sajid Javid asking him to confirm whether [...]
Environmental taxes: Will the Chancellor break with history, raise fuel duty and go further? March 6, 2020 Looking to the manifesto, it would be hard to predict what the Budget would contain on environmental taxes. In common with the other main political parties, there were few direct commitments among the rhetoric. Beyond a statement on plastics packaging tax, we saw only a promise to “prioritise the environment in the next Budget, investing [...]
George Osborne’s former adviser Rupert Harrison: Extra spending in Budget is ‘welcome’ March 10, 2020 Rupert Harrison has spent the last few weeks monitoring obscure economic indicators – everything from pollution in Chinese cities to traffic in Milan – in an effort to guide his clients at investment giant Blackrock through the worst market crisis since 2008. He’s no stranger to financial turbulence, however, having been chained at the hip [...]
Prudential UK property fund delays withdrawals for up to six months July 4, 2019 Last week Bank of England governor Mark Carney said these types of funds were "built on a lie"
British beer sales declined in the first quarter May 30, 2018 British beer sales fell in the first quarter of 2018, returning to decline after a burst of popularity last year. Sales fell 1.7 per cent in the three months to March, though this was against a tough comparaitve of 3.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2017. Last year’s rise marked the first time [...]