Image copyright Getty Images Sub-prime lender Non-Standard Finance (NSF) has made a £1.3bn takeover offer for rival Provident Financial. NSF boss John van Kuffeler was previously chief executive and chairman of Provident, a doorstep lender with a history of financial troubles. He said the deal would “create a market leader in non-standard finance”. NSF said …
Image copyright Dairy Crest Dairy Crest, whose brands include Cathedral City cheddar and Country Life butter, has agreed to be bought by a Canadian company in a near-£1bn deal. Saputo, one of the biggest dairy processors in the world, will pay 620p a share for Dairy Crest, valuing the company at about £975m. The Canadian …
Image copyright Getty Images Energy supplier Solarplicity has been banned from taking on new customers for three months due to its poor switching process and customer service. Energy regulator Ofgem has also banned the company from increasing vulnerable customers’ direct debits. Ofgem warned that the firm, which has 60,000 customers, could have its licence revoked …
The film First Man has been Oscar nominated in the best visual effects category. Tristan Myles, the digital effects supervisor for First Man tells BBC Click about how the special effects were done on the film which tells the story of Nasa’s mission to land men on the Moon 50 years ago. See more at …
Image copyright Robodrone Image caption Rescue teams say drones can sometimes halve search times Being buried alive is a scenario most of us thankfully only experience in nightmares. But for off-piste skiing fans, lured by the thrill of carving their own tracks through fresh powder snow, it’s an ever-present risk. More than 150 people – …
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption One of China’s biggest ports is reported to have halted Australian coal imports The Australian government says it is seeking an “urgent” clarification from Beijing over reports that a major Chinese port has halted imports of Australian coal. Australia is a top supplier of coal to China, its biggest …
Image copyright Getty Images US President Donald Trump has said he wants the US to become a technology leader through competition rather than by blocking others. Mr Trump said American firms must “step up their efforts, or get left behind”. He did not specifically mention China’s Huawei, though many interpreted the comments as Mr Trump …
Image copyright Getty Images Last year, Iceland became the first country to make companies responsible for paying men and women equally. Equal pay – paying men and women the same for jobs of equal value – has been a legal requirement in Iceland, the UK and many other countries for decades. While other countries focus …
Two centuries ago, it was used only by Indians. Nowadays, billions of us use it every day. We’re talking about shampoo. The world lathers its way through almost $90bn-worth a year. But who made it the global way of washing hair? And do we really need to use so much of it? Here’s Aaron Heslehurst. …
Image copyright Getty Images Government regulation of social media and the internet could have “unintended consequences” for victims of sexual abuse, a charity has warned. The Internet Watch Foundation said that “knee-jerk regulation” in response to a string of data and privacy scandals could come at a “heavy cost”. The UK government is expected to …