Service sector slowdown revives fears of double dip recession

The service sector has slowed sharply. Photograph: David Sillitoe Growth in Britain’s service industry has slowed sharply as employers have scaled back hiring in the face of the gloomy economic outlook amid looming public spending cuts. A key survey of the sector, which includes businesses from hairdressers to banks and makes up two-thirds of the [...]

Asil Nadir faces Old Bailey hearing

Asil Nadir will face an Old Bailey hearing today. Photograph: Daniel Deme/EPA A provisional trial date may be fixed today for fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir during a brief hearing at the Old Bailey. Nadir was given bail in his absence on 30 July on condition he returns to the UK and attends court today, when [...]

BP: Deepwater Horizon oil well will be permanently sealed ‘in two weeks’

BP’s oil well in the Gulf of Mexico exploded on 20 April. Photograph: Sipa Press / Rex Features BP said today it is a fortnight away from sealing the ruptured oil well in the Gulf of Mexico for good, as it revealed that the bill for containing and cleaning up the oil spill – the [...]

US jobs market still reeling long after financial crisis

People wait at an employment help centre in Miami, Florida. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images Fresh evidence of the stuttering nature of America’s recovery from its deepest postwar recession will be provided by the labour department in Washington today when it reveals the latest figures for job creation in the world’s biggest economy. Always an eagerly [...]

Pop music as branding? Shh … | Tom Ewing

‘Here’s how the consumer can benefit from the collaboration’ … Black Eyed Peas. Photograph: Jim Cooper/AP Earlier this year, Black Eyed Peas leader will.i.am gave an interview to the Wall Street Journal about his group’s success. “I consider us a brand,” he said, adding such observations as: “Here’s how the consumer can benefit from the collaboration.” [...]


Hot News

Phone hacking claims: John Prescott calls for police conduct inquiry

John Prescott has called for a judicial review of the conduct of the Metropolitan police in relation to phone hacking claims: Photograph: Danny Lawson/PA Wire/PA Photos John Prescott today called for a judicial review of the conduct of the Metropolitan... 

Sports

Camper van kid aims to stall Murray

Dustin Brown will be Andy Murray’s opponent in the second round of the US Open. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA They have never met, never even spoken. “Well, I know him from the TV, yeah,” says Dustin Brown of Andy Murray, who will make... 

Entertainment

Liz Hurley and Hugh Grant attend a bread fest. Crumbs!

Liz Hurley at a party. At a bakery? Photograph: Alan Chapman/Rex Features And so to what I believe might be referred to as a crowd-sourcing exercise, wherein Lost in Showbiz readers are asked to isolate and send in the week’s single most brimstone-beckoning... 

Science

Whale Leaps From Water, Crushes Sailboat

capetownsailing.co.za The 33-foot southern right whale soared out of the water off Cape Town, South Africa, and landed on a sailboat, snapping the mast. If you play with fire, you get burned. Or crushed, it appears. Photographs show a 33-foot southern right whale... 


Hospitals warned over doses of drugs given to babies

Poppy Davies died after being given a glucose overdose at Great Ormond Street hospital. Photograph: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images Hospitals have been told to take care when giving infants intravenous doses of fluids or drugs, after a baby girl died after a glucose overdose at Great Ormond Street children’s hospital in London. The National Patient Safety [...]

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Pubs cite record fall in alcohol drinking

UK drinkers are now consuming 13% less alcohol than in 2004, with consumption remaining below the EU average. Photograph: Rex Features The UK has seen its biggest fall in alcohol consumption in 60 years, according to new figures from an industry body. The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said 2009 saw the sharpest year-on-year [...]

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Gamescom: the hottest new titles

A PlayStation exhibition stand at the Gamescom 2010 fair in Cologne. Photograph: Ina Fassbender/Reuters Gamescom is one of the only remaining trade shows that allows members of the public to play forthcoming titles from all the major publishers. In 2009, more than 245,000 gamers attended, and this year’s event in Cologne’s enormous Messe exhibition grounds [...]

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Caroline Mason, chief operating officer Charity Bank

Caroline Mason, chief operating officer of Charity Bank, and co-founder of Investing for Good. Photograph: Frank Baron for the Guardian Superheroes sparked Caroline Mason’s conversion from career banker to champion of social investment. As the chief operating officer of Charity Bank, she now spends her time convincing people to put their money to good use, [...]

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