From the ashes a fire shall be woken,A light from the shadows shall spring;Renewed shall be blade that was broken,The crownless again shall be king’. J.R.R. Tolkien 1892 – 1973 John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE FRSL was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works The Hobbit and TheRead More →
British Medical Association-organised strike Consultants and junior doctors in England are holding their first joint strike in the history of the NHS. Waiting list The latest data from NHS England, states the number of people waiting to start routine hospital treatment is at a record high of 7.68 million at the endRead More →
Lao Tzu (also spelled Laozi or Lao-Tze) was a semi-legendary ancient Chinese philosopher who is credited with writing the Tao Te Ching, a classic of Chinese philosophical-religious literature. The Tao Te Ching is the main source of Taoist teachings, which emphasize harmony with the natural flow of the Tao, theRead More →
As the pandemic hit world economies, share prices plunged. But as the ‘fear’ lifted so too did the share prices.Read More →
Venture firms take a hit Sequoia Capital and Andreessen Horowitz, two of Silicon Valley’s most high-profile venture firms, are poised to take a massive hit on their investments in grocery delivery company Instacart, a deal that closed in 2021 as tech stocks were soaring. In its latest IPO prospectus update,Read More →
George Orwell 1903 – 1950 George Orwell 1903 – 1950. This quote is ‘attributed’ to George Orwell, a British writer and journalist who is best known for his novels 1984 and Animal Farm. But this quote is most likely NOT an Orwell one – eventhough it is widely accepted as his. It isRead More →
Confidence in Bank of England (BoE) is a measure of how much the public trusts the central bank to control inflation, set interest rates and maintain economic stability. According to the latest Inflation ‘Attitudes Survey‘ conducted by the Bank of England in August 2023, confidence in Bank of England hasRead More →
FTSE 100 index The FTSE 100 is the index of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange by market capitalization. It is one of the most widely used indicators of the UK economy and the performance of British businesses. The FTSE 100 had its best week of theRead More →
Steve Jobs 1955 – 2011, Inventor and visionaryRead More →
Flights at Gatwick Airport were cancelled, delayed or diverted at short notice on Thursday 14th September 2023 due to a shortage of air traffic controllers. Gatwick confirmed some cancellations, while the website FlightRadar24 said hundreds of flights in and out of the airport were delayed. The National Air Traffic ServicesRead More →
Masayoshi Son says AI to surpass human intelligence and that SoftBank will ‘rule the world’. Oh dear…! Main points in brief Masayoshi Son and SoftBank The 66-year-old founded SoftBank, which still controls about 90% of Arm Holdings after the IPO, back in 1981 after graduating from the University of California,Read More →
Eurozone interest rates have been hiked again to a record high by the European Central Bank (ECB). The bank raised its key rate for the 10th time in a row, to 4% from 3.75%, as it warned inflation was expected to remain too high for too long. The latest increaseRead More →
Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) NASA has recently released a report on Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), which is another term for UFOs. The report is based on a yearlong study of hundreds of UAP sightings by scientists and data experts. In brief NASA found no evidence that aliens are behind theRead More →
Ultra successful IPO for arm Investors gobbled up UK microchip designer Arm Holdings at its U.S. debut on the Nasdaq on 14th September 2023, sending its market value soaring to $60 billion (£48.3 billion). The shares ended the day worth more than $63 each, after climbing by almost 25% fromRead More →
The blackberry Blackberries are a very healthy food, packed with antioxidants that can help prevent cancer and other diseases. Blackberries can be picked from late summer through to mid-autumn. The earlier ones tend to be better raw, the later good for cooking. A ripe blackberry is deep black with a plump,Read More →
Albert Einstein 1879 – 1955Read More →
The value of UK mortgage arrears jumped by almost a third in April to June 2023 compared with the same period last year, according to the Bank of England (BoE). Outstanding mortgage debt is now £16.9bn, the highest since 2016, it said. Mortgage costs have risen for millions as theRead More →
France ban Apple iphone 12 According to news reports, France has banned the Apple iPhone 12 because it emits too much electromagnetic radiation, which could be harmful to human health. The French watchdog (ANFR) said that the iPhone 12’s specific absorption rate (SAR), which measures the rate of radio frequencyRead More →
Latest U.S. inflation figures The latest inflation figures for the U.S. show that the annual inflation rate rose to 3.7% in August 2021, up from 3.2% in July 2021. This was mainly driven by a sharp increase in energy prices, which jumped up 10.5% over the last month. Gas (petrol) prices accounted for more than half ofRead More →
The UK economy shrank more than expected in July due to strike action taken by NHS workers, doctors and teachers – ONS data shows. Wet weather also hit the construction and retail industries, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, causing the economy to contract by 0.5%. The figures wereRead More →
Oversubscribed The upcoming IPO of Arm Holdings, the British chip designer that is owned by SoftBank Group is already oversubscribed by more than 10 times. Bankers plan to stop taking orders by the afternoon of 12th Deptember 2023. This means that there is a massive demand for the shares andRead More →
Top tech stocks The Magnificent Seven is a term to describe seven tech’ stocks that have been surging in 2023. Dominant These seven stocks are considered to be dominant in their respective fields and have strong growth prospects driven by innovation and artificial intelligence (AI). They have outperformed the broaderRead More →
Martin Luther 1483 – 1546 Martin Luther was a German theologian and leader of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century. He is known for his writings and teachings on topics such as justification by faith, the authority of Scripture, the priesthood of all believers, and the freedom of the Christian.Read More →
50 million iPhones sold in China every year Apple sells around 50 million iPhones in China annually. A sweeping ban is what investors fear and that spells trouble for Apple. Apple stock drops after The Wall Street Journal reported a day earlier that Chinese authorities have curbed the use of the iPhone.Read More →
Attracting seasonal workers remains a problem for some UK farmers, despite the UK government’s attempts to increase the number of visas available for people from overseas. There is a shortage of short term farm labour in the UK to pick crops, especially potatoes. Some of the possible causes and consequencesRead More →
