“It’s not about the money. It’s about my sanity”: Read Minecraft creator Markus Persson’s full resignation letter from Mojang after Microsoft sale September 15, 2014 Having sold his company, Mojang, to Microsoft for a cool $2.5bn (£1.5bn) today, Minecraft creator Markus "Notch" Persson announced his departure today. Carl Manneh, the company's chief executive, and Jakob Porser, another founder, both also decided to leave. By the sounds of it, it wasn't much to do with the money. He mentioned the negative [...]
OECD slashes its Eurozone growth forecast by a third September 15, 2014 The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development has cut its 2014 GDP growth forecast for the Eurozone by a third, from 1.2 per cent to 0.8 per cent. It also reduced its 2015 outlook for the area, from 1.7 per cent in May to 1.1 per cent now. In its interim economic assessment, [...]
Dixons Carphone could offer 1,500 Phones 4u workers jobs September 15, 2014 Dixons Carphone is planning to offer jobs to hundreds of Phones 4u employees after the mobile phone retailer collapsed into administration. Carphone Warehouse has previously announced it will have 1,500 vacancies at the newly-formed company, a four per cent increase in the total number of jobs available prior to the merger, which was completed in [...]
Rouble falls to record low against the dollar on ceasefire worries September 15, 2014 Scottish independence may be hitting the headlines over here, but morning trading showed markets' main concerns are still over the situation in Ukraine and the associated sanctions hitting Russian businesses. While the pound fell slightly against the dollar – 0.02 per cent – on jitters over what will happen north of the border on Thursday, [...]
The Chinese city of Chongqing has created the world’s first lane for mobile phone-using pedestrians September 15, 2014 Anyone who has spent time in a city is familiar with the frustrations of phone zombies – the strange, hunched figures absent-mindedly wandering into oncoming pedestrians' paths because they're too busy using their phones to look where they're going. Now the Chinese city of Chongqing has solved the problem, by creating the world's first lane [...]
Dollar slides on more disappointment from the US as jobless claims rise September 11, 2014 The dollar slid 0.28 per cent against the pound this afternoon after fresh data from the US showed August's disappointing non-farm payroll figure was more than just a blip. Figures released today showed the number of applicants claiming unemployment benefits rose to 315,000 last week, up from 304,000 the week before and way above economists' [...]
European sanctions against Russia will come into force tomorrow September 11, 2014 Trade sanctions against Russia agreed by EU countries will come into force tomorrow, it was reported today. Although details of the sanctions have yet to be unveiled, they are expected to be the toughest imposed on Russia so far, including strict measures against Russian energy companies that are also likely to hit Western oil firms, [...]
In pictures: Here’s what Amazon’s massive new London office will look like September 11, 2014 Tech giant Amazon announced this morning it has signed a deal to open a huge office just around the corner from Silicon Roundabout. The new office will provide space for more than 5,000 employees, it said. Amazon's new home will be Principal Place, a massive development between Liverpool Street and Shoreditch High Street stations, which [...]
Robocop already exists (although it looks more like a Dalek) September 11, 2014 There has been a lot of talk lately about the likelihood of people's jobs being stolen by robots – at the beginning of this month, a report by Microsoft showed bankers' and analysts' jobs could be under threat. And while we all know robot police have been on sci-fi writers' radars for years, it turns out [...]
Ana Botín named new chairman of Banco Santander September 10, 2014 Ana Botín has been appointed to lead Banco Santander after her father, Emilio Botín, died of a heart attack last night. The move makes her arguably Europe's most powerful female banker. Following a meeting of its appointments and remuneration committee the bank announced this afternoon that Ana, who is currently chief executive of its UK [...]
