Euro losses continue as ECB expected to raise rates
by brian_turnerSpeculation that the European Central Bank (ECB) may reduce interest rates to support the continent’s struggling economies, caused the euro to fall to $1.1983 on Friday, the first time it has gone below $1.20 since August 2003. Later in the day it recovered slightly to stand at $1.2086
On Thursday, ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet, restated his [...]
Software piracy viewed as normal: study
by brian_turnerThe results of a government-commissioned study to find if the anti-piracy message was having an impact on people’s attitudes, were previewed at a games conference in London.
The ‘Fake Nation’ report, which questioned 2,400 people, will be formally presented next week by Dr Jo Bryce of the University of Central Lancashire and Dr Jason [...]
June 23, 2005
TUC wants stronger rights for temporary workers
by brian_turnerThe TUC has said that temporary workers must be protected from “cowboy” job agencies and employers that pay them less than permanent staff. The organisation said that the government should speed up the implementation of a proposed EU directive to improve the rights of temporary staff.
According to the TUC, the UK is one of three [...]
Blair sets stage ready for EU presidency at turning point
by brian_turnerPrime Minister Tony Blair has told Euro MPs that the European Union faces a “crisis in political leadership”. He said reform was necessary to win back public support. Mr Blair outlined plans for the UK’s six-month EU presidency, saying “Only by change will Europe recover its strength, its relevance, its idealism” and therefore public support. [...]
BT avoids break-up on concessions
by brian_turnerTelecoms company, BT Group, has agreed to offer rival operators equal access to its UK fixed-line network. It plans to set up an Access Services business unit, which will be staffed by approximately 30,000 people and headed by BT independent non-executive director Carl Symon. BT is also reducing wholesale prices for its rivals in exchange [...]
Warnings of fuel price rises
by brian_turnerThe Petrol Retailers Association has warned that diesel prices could increase to over £1 a litre this year. It says that petrol prices are expected to increase by 2p within days, with unleaded reaching a new record 87p a litre on average.
The association said the increase was due to record crude prices near $60-a-barrel [...]
SciVisum finds website standards lacking
by brian_turnerWeb-testing firm SciVisum assessed 100 leading consumer websites and found that 10% of them did not work correctly on the Firefox web browser, including government website Jobcentreplus.gov.uk.
Firefox, which was launched in November 2004, is an open source alternative to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Although most people still use Internet Explorer, Firefox, created by Mozilla, [...]
Blog tool wins Microsoft awards
by brian_turnerA team of students has won the UK finals of Microsoft’s Imagine Cup, with a location-aware tool called OneReach. OneReach gives travellers access to blogs specific to the area they are in, allowing them to find useful information and tips. It also creates a map which enables family and friends to follow their journey. [...]
June 22, 2005
Call for tax credit overpayments to be scrapped
by brian_turnerReports by both the Citizens Advice Bureaux and the Parliamentary Ombudsman call for tax credit overpayments to be written off because the repayments are causing hardship to families.
Paymaster General, Dawn Primarolo, has asked HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to suspend the recovery of overpayments where there is a dispute between the HMRC and the [...]
Bank of England retains rate as calls for cuts continue
by brian_turnerThe latest set of minutes from the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has raised the possibility of an early cut in UK interest rates.
Two members of the MPC, Charles Bean and Marian Bell, voted for a cut, while seven members voted to keep rates at 4.75%.
Those against the rate reduction argued [...]
Parents ignore game age ratings
by brian_turnerA study commissioned by the UK games industry shows that parent ignore warnings on games that say they are unsuitable for children.
Presenting the results of the study at the Elspa (Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association) summit in London, Jurgen Freund from Swiss research company Modulum, said “Most parents think their child is mature [...]
BlueGene/L supercomputer still most powerful computer
by brian_turnerIBM’s BlueGene/L supercomputer, which is under construction at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US, has retained its leading place in the list of the most powerful machines on Earth. It has a processing peak of 136.8 teraflops, which will be doubled when construction is complete.
The Top 500 list is drawn up every [...]
Microsoft aims for 10 million Xbox 360 sales within 1 year
by brian_turnerMicrosoft has announced that it is targeting the sale of 10 million units of the Xbox 360 next generation games console, within 12 to 16 months of its launch.
The 360 console is scheduled to go on sale before Christmas in the US, Europe, and Japan, beating rival Sony, whose PlayStation 3 is due out [...]
June 21, 2005
BT UK Livetime implements mobile TV
by brian_turnerTelecoms company BT has had to build its own hardware for trials of an innovative TV-on-mobiles service, because no phone manufacturer produces handsets able to decode the digital radio signals used to carry TV pictures.
The BT UK Livetime service gives access to Sky news services, Sky Sports, Blaze music channel and 50 radio stations. [...]
LA Times cancels Wiki experiment
by brian_turnerUS newspaper, The Los Angeles Times, has halted a ‘wikitorial’ trial giving readers the opportunity to edit its editorials on its website.
The online version of the paper commenced the trial last week, in order to give its readers a voice, but it was suspended after the site was bombarded with inappropriate material.
Wikis, from [...]
DTI rebrands from DPEI back to DTI
by brian_turnerThe Department of Trade and Industry is to revert to its original name after briefly being re-branded as the Department for Productivity, Energy and Industry.
The £30,000 cost of the name changes was revealed in a Commons written answer.
The Conservative Party has criticised the cost to the taxpayer, saying that the cash could have [...]
NAPF warns on private pension schemes closing
by brian_turnerChristine Farnish, head of the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has warned that all final salary pension schemes in the private sector could close by 2010. The comments were made on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, prior to a Pensions Commission meeting to discuss improvements to the UK’s pension system.
According to the NAPF, [...]
EU to suggest new car tax regulations
by brian_turnerRadical new plans to create uniform regulations across Europe on linking car taxes to emissions, are to be formally presented to the finance ministers of member nations, after the July 1 transfer of the EU presidency to Britain.
The changes have been under consideration by the European Commission since 2002. Aims of [...]
June 20, 2005
Scottish economy outperforms UK
by brian_turnerAccording to a study by Ernst & Young, the Scottish economy is on course to outperform the UK as a whole in 2005, helped by an unexpected increase in inward migration in 2004. Scotland recorded a net gain of 25,000 migrants, who were attracted by lower-priced housing and growth in public sector job opportunities.
Scotland’s [...]
London is Europe’s most expensive city
by brian_turnerIn an annual world study of 144 cities by Mercer Human Resource Consulting, London was ranked the most expensive city in Europe, due to high housing and transport costs. London was ahead of Glasgow, which was placed 40th and Birmingham in 47th place. The study looked at the cost of housing, transport, food, clothing, household [...]