Microsoft’s takeover of Nokia’s mobile phone division won’t come as much of a surprise to anyone who has kept an eye on the pair for any length of time. Two years ago, the two companies decided to collaborate…
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How does a UK company manage to earn £84 billion in one deal without paying any tax? It is the question many people are asking after Vodafone sold off its stake in US telecoms company Verizon Wireless…
Among Western nations it would be difficult to find two cultures as different as the US and Finland. Americans are stereotypically confident and outgoing; Finns considerably more reserved. This is even…
It’s the biggest corporate deal in more than a decade. Since the AOL-TimeWarner and the Mannesmann-Vodafone deals at the turn of the century, no transaction has come close to the US$130 billion involved…
One of the most tedious but enduring stories of a summer packed with sporting incident has finally reached its climax: Gareth Bale has been bought by Real Madrid. This morning he had a medical at the club…
Another week, another banking scandal. In the past few years we have seen what appears to be an endless line-up of banks behaving badly. They have engaged in rate manipulation, rogue trading, product mis-selling…
With the economies of developed countries picking up, India risks being left behind as concerns grow over its economy and the viability of investing in its markets and companies. Investors are now turning…
The discount label is a familiar sight in UK shops. Everything from expensive televisions to supermarket essentials now seem to be offered for less than their original prices. But how often is the discount…
Prospective US and UK military action in Syria has created jitters in the financial and commodities markets around the world. Stock markets have experienced significant losses, whereas commodities and…
Since last week’s gas attack on a Damascus suburb, the political class has been gripped by the idea that “something must be done.” Meanwhile Wall Street, already declining through early August, fell further…
3D printing stocks jumped early this week following analyst Kenneth Wong’s assertion that the market could triple in the next five years. But why the sudden attention? The possible economic impact of 3D…
The idea that competition is better than monopoly provision in public services is now established wisdom among the British political elite. Since the advent of something commonly called “New Public Management…
Volkswagen Brasil has announced its plan to terminate production of its iconic Type 2 bus, better known to many as the Kombi van. Boasting the longest commercial production line of any vehicle since manufacture…
Calls for the legalisation of marijuana in the Americas have gathered pace in recent years. Nearly half US states have decreed in favour of the legal use of medical marijuana and last month Uruguay was…
This bank holiday weekend, London celebrates yet another glorious Notting Hill Carnival. Relatively few of the hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of revellers enjoying the festivities appreciate the…
Considering how many of Britain’s rich and powerful take the train to work, it seems odd to describe rail commuters as hard done by. And yet some undoubtedly are. Last week the government announced the…
Playwright Mark Ravenhill’s provocative opening speech at this year’s Edinburgh Festival outlined a doomsday scenario where public funding for the arts disappeared and Britain descended into a cultural…
With independent journalism increasingly under threat, will academics be the next set of critical voices to be targeted? A report calling for research and evidence to have a reduced role in public policy…
Restoring the tax break for married couples has long been a Conservative Party commitment, and one they now intend to pursue this autumn. The outgoing Chief Rabbi, Lord Sacks, has now – from a non-party…
Whether it’s arguments over delays at the border or concrete blocks dumped in the sea, Gibraltar has been causing the UK and Spain lots of grief recently. It has gathered an awful lot of attention for…
As long as there have been financial markets, there have been serious financial losses. But the traders of today have shown a talent for blowing billions. During the most recent round of financial misadventures…
Compared to westerners, Asian consumers are variety seekers. Their frequent store-hopping has presented western supermarkets with a difficult conundrum. Follow the same strategy that worked well with loyal…
“You are being spied upon” is a warning that seems to greet us from the pages of our newspapers almost every day at the moment. The government is stockpiling your data, your Internet service provider is…
To cash in on global demand for British higher education, universities have been busy setting up international branch campuses to transplant the UK student experience (or aspects of it) to the Gulf or…
Labour spokesman Chris Bryant’s speech on immigration calling on companies to take on more British young people came days after news there had been a leap in zero-hour contracts, a type of contract used…