Facebook updates plagued by glitches October 21, 2013 Users of social media site Facebook have been unable to update their friends this afternoon as the platform suffers from technological issues, with an error message stating that "there was a problem updating your status. Please try again in a few minutes". Doesn't matter which browser you use, or where you are – the problem [...]
Gove green-lights 3D printers in schools October 21, 2013 Education secretary Michael Gove has given the go-ahead for a £500,000 fund for 60 schools to buy 3D printers and train teachers to use them. This follows a project the Department of Education launched last year which funded 21 secondary schools to trial the use of 3D printers in science, technology, engineering, maths (STEM) as [...]
Fed’s Evans sees tapering delayed after Washington battle October 21, 2013 Federal Reserve dove Charles Evans has said that tapering is going to take longer as a result of the US government standoff, saying that the Fed "needs to do whatever is necessary". A little spin on the "whatever it takes" line we're so familiar with central bankers spouting. Evans said that he doesn't think about [...]
£15m UK collaboration to bolster health systems in low and middle-income countries October 21, 2013 The Department for International Development (DfID) has today announced a new £15m research initiative aimed at improving health systems in low and middle-income countries (LMICs). The scheme is a collaboration between the DfID, the Wellcome Trust, Medical Research Council and Economic and Social Research Council and looks to support researchers and research groups in LMICs, [...]
Mutual to own just 30 per cent of Co-op Bank after rescue plan October 21, 2013 The Co-operative Bank will cease to be majority owned by its mutual parent after a drastic rescue plan is finalised, according to reports by Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman. After revealing a £1.5bn capital black hole in June the troubled bank has looked for investment to plug the gap. This morning it announced that [...]
Starbucks appoints former Pizza Hut chief as new UK managing director October 21, 2013 Coffee company Starbucks has announced the appointment of Mark Fox as UK managing director of the company, effective from 6 January. Fox has over 20 years of retail operations and franchise experience, and was recently CEO of Pizza Hut UK. He's also worked with Compass brands in the UK and Ireland. Now he says that [...]
Huge thirst for tablets counterbalances sinking PC shipments October 21, 2013 Growing demand for tablets will boost global shipments as the market is driven by a shift to lower-priced devices across the board, research company Gartner said today. (Release) The predicted 11.2 per cent decline in traditional PCs this year (that's 303m units) will be counteracted by tablet growth of 42.7 per cent, with shipments reaching [...]
Pictures: Husky delivery service trialled in the City October 21, 2013 After Winter deliveries have been disrupted by adverse weather in previous years, same day courier CitySprint is now trialling a novel new delivery method in the City – packages via sled dog team. Trained huskies have been used in London today in an attempt to see if they could help minimise disruption caused by extreme [...]
More public feedback required as part of review into reach of EU laws October 21, 2013 In its ongoing audit of EU competences, designed to scrutinise and inform prior to a referendum on British membership of the EU, the government today published three calls for public evidence this morning on financial services and the free movement of capital, the EU budget, agriculture and fundamental rights. The calls, which appeal to private [...]
Number of customers enquiring about energy provider switches doubles as prices rise October 21, 2013 Citizens Advice has announced that the number of energy queries it has received has doubled follow recent price rise announcements. So far SSE, British Gas and Npower have announced rises of 8.2 per cent, 9.2 per cent and 10.4 per cent respectively. That customers are enquiring about switching provider is clear evidence that many are [...]