Gentrify Better to gentrify an area, or not gentrify? Affluent professionals moving into poor areas are blamed for rising house prices, forcing others to re-locate & changing the city’s character. But their money brings more jobs, better schools & less crime. Ruth Glass’s 1960’s term ‘gentrification’ outlined the gentry’s move into London as it evolved…
Month: April 2019
Easter egg Hidden “Easter eggs” appeal to our fondness for puzzles & discovery. Since Atari’s1979 video game Adventure, comic books, computer software and even search engines have included secret jokes, messages & images, encouraging us to hunt them out.Effective user engagement, while keeping creators happily productive Guessed the Word? Series 41 (5/9) …
Marriage Wedding season soon, but marriage is declining all over the world. UK marriages peaked in 1972: 80 out of 1,000 men, & 60 out of 1,000 women, got wed. Corresponding 2016 figures: 23 men & 21 women. Tax relief for married couples, not based on need nor ability to pay, rewards a lifestyle/ moral choice. …
Twin peaks Global trend is towards ‘twin peaks’ financial supervision: 1 prudential supervisor for capital/ risk controls, another for markets/ business conduct. This model from Australia & Holland adopted by UK, New Zealand & South Africa. But others eg. Germany, Sweden, Poland have chosen the single supervisory model for banking, insurance & pensions. Double trouble?…
Utility Utilities were dull but safe investments with regular dividends & little volatility. Butrenewable energy (wind, solar), energy-efficiency advances (smarter homes) & climate change (wildfires) have sparked a change. Now the safe utility firms are those who own only poles & wires Guessed the Word? Series 41 (2/9) …
Nanosecond Getting data even nanoseconds faster generates huge profits. So physical location of cables & towers to transmit data is critical. Being closer, UK receives US data before Europe, through undersea fibre-optic cables. Light travels 30cm / nanosecond (billionth of a second). Straight cables transmit data fastest Guessed the Word? Series 41 (8/9) …
Guess the Word and Contact Us for prizes! Series 41 starts soon….. 1st letter of each Post Title (in a Series) spells a business word – spelt correctly or jumbled up. Previous answers: Series 40 spelt L-E-A-D (DEAL) Series 39 spelt N-O-C-U-T-D-O-W-N (COUNTDOWN) Series 38 spelt F-A-T-F-I-R (TARIFF) Series 37 spelt R-E-C-I-T-A-L (ARTICLE) Series 36 spelt C-O-M-E-O-U-T (OUTCOME) Series 35 spelt Y-E-T-I-D-U-E-L …
Dump Up to 1/3 of the food grown on British farms is dumped each year, for not meeting appearance standards. EU regulations focus on visuals (colour, blemishes, dirt), not on nutritional quality. Brexit could allow the UK to develop its own policy for fruit & veg Guessed the Word? Series 40…
Air Half of London’s toxic air pollution is caused by road transport. To reduce exhaust emissions by 45%, from 8 April, its Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) standards are the toughest in the world. Dirty air kills 9,000 Londoners & costs the economy £4.5bn each year. Soon, people from the country will come to London…
Error Every internet user knows 404, the error message. Caused by poor internal linking, dead links or expired/sold-out items. Relieve theuser’s frustration with humour, useful information, or helpful re-direct (“a 301”), say to a blog. Practical/ fun approaches can even make “a 404” a destination in its own right! Guessed the Word? …