Shareholders at BP are sure to be happy with 2017’s trading, following fuel sales representing a profit of $6.2bn, up from $2.6bn made during the previous 12 months....
Are means tested benefits pointless?
In an article for The Independent, Sam Osborne revealed that the government has increased the amount it pays to outsourcers who administer disability assessments by £40 million per year, taking the total yearly output to £295 million per year....
Can fluctuating LED lights raise our energy levels in the office?
Phillips has designed a system of LED lights which aims to support the wellbeing of employees in the workplace. According to the designers behind the invention, the LED lights have the ability to provide a similar energy boost as drinking a cup of coffee....
Kodak delays KodakCoin initial offering
The value of shares in Eastman Kodak have started to decline following the company’s announcement its initial coin offering has been hampered by delays. Having announced the launch at the CES technology trade fair, Kodak claim to have attracted over 40,000 potential investors....
The next wave of building materials?
The trend towards using cross-laminated timber for construction is already well under way. It is cheap, simple to use, easy to make, clean, safe, and it looks great....
Cranespotting
New research from Deloitte Real Estate’s Manchester Crane Survey has revealed that Manchester is one of Europe’s fastest growing cities, with construction beginning on 20 new schemes in 2017 and work rate on residential developments 60% higher than the year before....
Climate change in 2018, will it get worse?
There is a pub in York city centre, just near the ancient city walls, called The Kings Arms. It’s also known locally and nationally as ‘The pub that floods’ after numerous appearances on the news whenever the River Ouse bursts its banks....
The carbon footprint of pre-packaged sandwiches
Approximately 11.5 billion sandwiches are being eaten annually in the UK, according to the British Sandwich Association (BSA)....
Start crowdsourcing healthcare
It has been estimated that as many as one billion people around the world cannot afford adequate medical care. The vast majority of these people live in the developing world, meaning that mortality rates are highest among the global poor....
A great time to be flying
Despite 2017 delivering the busiest year for air travel since records began, research into commercial airline safety showed there were no passenger aircraft crashes anywhere in the world during 2017.
UKIP in chaos
The UK Independence Party, most recognisable for its anti-immigration and anti-EU stances, seems to be imploding as 12 people had resigned from top positions in the party by the time of publication, apparently in protest at their leader, Henry Bolton, who has refused to resign following a racism scandal....
Skip the queue with Amazon
After much speculation and a more than a few teething problems, Amazon has finally unveiled the world’s first checkout-less supermarket: Amazon Go....
The Age of Seaweed
Worrying about our collective addiction to plastics is a bit of a hobby at Global Property Scene. Plastic is ubiquitous in the modern world, acting as packaging for everything from water to toys, and it is not easily recycled unlike paper or metal. Consequently, we just bin it instead with barely a thought and we are on course for the sea to contain more plastic than fish by 2050....
Thinking outside the box
Hong Kong’s skyrocketing property prices have forced tens of thousands of residents into tiny apartments and urban developers are now exploring creative solutions which include converting shipping containers into temporary homes....
The impact of Lyft
Over the past few years it has felt a lot like the traditional taxi industry is being forced out into the wilderness. The industry might not yet be dying, but the irresistible modernising force of technology is certainly changing the game....
The amenities arms race
As the competition hots up between residential and commercial developers for business, so does the ‘amenities arms race’....
Commuting by air
Drones have been around for more than two decades but have only grown in popularity in the last few years. Many innovative businesses are now adopting drones to their services and this includes online retail giants, Amazon, who have brought them in to monitor homes and deliver goods....
The US embassy, peanuts and Africa: Donald Trump’s week
Despite our best efforts, it’s nearly impossible not to cover what Donald Trump has done at least once a month, if only to highlight the ludicrous situation that a country like the USA finds itself in....
Tulip mania, the first speculative bubble
There has been much debate in recent times about the appeal of cryptocurrencies. It appears everyone is getting in on what seems to be on the surface a wave of growth and profit. Yet there is this inescapable feeling overshadowing everything, that we’re waiting for the trap door to emerge followed by a torrent of loss and regret....
MUJI moves into hotels
MUJI is one of the most interesting companies in the world. Formed in Japan in the 1980s, Muji has a philosophy based on design minimalism, and emphasis on recycling and avoidance of waste, and a policy of not imposing a logo or brand on their products.