Inside Eurostar's Fancy Train With Chic Italian Design And Wi-Fi | ||
| | ||
Eurostar has announced a new fleet of superfast trains as it celebrates 20 years of cross-channel transport. The e320 was unveiled on Thursday, Nov. 12, at St. Pancras station in London. The new trail will travel at speeds of 200 miles per hour and the company says it's adding seven new designs that will entering commercial operation in 2015. Have a look inside:
Eurostar says European travel is "at an all-time high," and the business is now expanding its services. Nicolas Petrovic, Chief Executive of Eurostar, said in a statement: “Having had ten consecutive years of growth, we are seeing record demand for our services and the addition of new trains to our fleet will be key to achieving our growth ambitions. "With just one year to go until our new e320 train comes into service, passengers will see a complete transformation of our service." Here's some high-end seating:
Petrovic describes the new designs as "bold" and says as well as "chic interiors", Wi-Fi internet will also be available for passengers. The trains will be able to carry 900 passengers, and the external livery and interiors were designed by Italian design house Pininfarina. And here's the exterior, tearing through the European countryside: | ||
| |
Walmart Warns Healthcare Costs And Taxes Are Eating Into Profits (WMT) | ||
| | ||
Walmart Q3 financial results were a bit better than what analysts were expecting. However, Q4 guidance was a bit weak. Comparable store sales in Walmart's US stores climbed by 0.5% during Q3. Earnings improved to $1.15 per share, which was higher than the $1.12 forecast by analysts. "We're investing in key areas of our business, including wages in our U.S. stores and in e-commerce and mobile capabilities," CEO Doug McMillon said. "Being the price leader is an ongoing priority for us and a commitment to customers. As with every year, that is even more important during the holiday season. We have some things in our favor this fourth quarter, including lower fuel prices in the U.S. and other key markets, and we're set to deliver for customers during this time." However, Q4 guidance was a bit weak. Management expects to earn $1.46-$1.56 per share, which compares to analysts' forecast for $1.57. "Our earnings per share guidance assumes several important factors, including the economic conditions in several of our largest markets, and a highly promotional holiday season," CFO Charles Holley said. "As a reminder, our full year EPS guidance includes the four factors we discussed last quarter, which were higher U.S. health-care costs, incremental investments in e-commerce, ongoing investments in Sam's Club, and our effective tax rate." Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Labour Leader Ed Miliband Says Free Markets And Trickle-Down Economics Have Failed | ||
| | ||
Less than a week after outlining his "pro-business" platform at the Confederation of British Industry annual conference Labour leader Ed Miliband has slammed the "failed belief" of trickle-down economics. In a speech at the University of London on Thursday the Miliband said that the belief that free markets produce egalitarian outcomes had been proven wrong. "Our country only works for the privileged few today, not for most people," he said. "Inequality is not some accident. It's driven by beliefs. Wrong beliefs. The idea that markets will always get the right outcomes, even if that means that powerful interests get all the power. And above all that the success of the country depends on the success of those at the top and it will trickle down to everyone else. These ideas have failed." In a speech aimed at blunting sharp criticism of his leadership in recent weeks, Miliband returned to traditional Labour themes of tackling inequality and vested interests. Reports had claimed that Miliband's leadership was in "crisis" with senior MPs from his own party briefing the press that as many as 20 shadow ministers were poised to call for him to step down before next year's election. The speech comes at an awkward time for the leader of the opposition as a new Ipsos Mori poll shows confidence in his leadership reaching new lows. The survey showed support for the Labour Party hitting its lowest point since it lost the last General Election in 2010:
This article is being updated. Click here to refresh. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Police hunt for tiger on the loose near Paris | ||
| | ||
Melun (France) (AFP) - Police and firefighters were desperately hunting for a tiger on the loose near Paris Thursday after a local resident took a photo of the fearsome animal and sounded the alert, authorities said. Backed up by a helicopter overhead, firefighters armed with paralysing weapons were mobilised for the search in the Seine-et-Marne district near the French capital. "We have been running after it since this morning, police officers are trying to intercept it," a police source said. A local spotted the animal in a supermarket car park, took a photo and then alerted authorities. It is as yet unclear where the animal comes from.
Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
A Popular Currency Trading Website Vanished Overnight And $1 Billion Disappeared With It | ||
| | ||
A popular currency trading website that gained popularity with small investors suddenly disappeared earlier this year, and could have taken more than $1 billion with it, Bloomberg reports. Secureinvestment.com — which was briefly more popular than widely-trusted currency trading platform forex.com — vanished to the dismay of the many small investors who trusted the site with their savings. According to Bloomberg Markets:
But the site disappeared in May this year. Rajibuddin Mandal, a doctor in England, told Bloomberg that he received an email from Secure on April 30: “Our Technical Department is currently working on system updates. Our company sincerely apologises for any temporary glitches that may occur.” The website went offline the next day and it doesn't look like it's coming back. According to Bloomberg, Mandal's entire $60,000 investment has probably disappeared forever. Here's what the site looked like in August 2013:
The news also serves as a bit of a warning about believing video testimonials. Many of those on secureinvestment.com were done by actors. Bloomberg explains:
The site's been gone for around six months and it doesn't look like it's coming back. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
The 30 Least Prosperous Countries In The World | ||
| | ||
According to Legatum Institute's Prosperity Index, sub-Saharan Africa accounts for many of the least prosperous nations of the world. The rest come from countries rocked by revolution and/or war. The annual index measures 142 countries based on 89 different economic analysis variables that measure success in industry, education, health, freedom, opportunity, and social capital. The nations were ranked into the following 4 color-coded groupings:
Egypt, which reverted from a fledgling democracy back to military dictatorship this year, joined war-torn countries Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen on the bottom of the list. Meanwhile, for the sixth year in a row, Norway is the most prosperous nation in the world and is followed another 18 European nations in the highest tier. Russia is the lowest ranking country within Europe and Venezuela has dropped the most of any country on the list to the 100th position. Here are the 30 least prosperous nations (and the full report):
SEE ALSO: Here's A Snapshot Of Global Prosperity Right Now Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
140-million-year-old dinosaur tooth found in Malaysia | ||
| | ||
Kuala Lumpur (AFP) - A dinosaur tooth found in Malaysia is at least 140 million years old and belongs to a new species within the "bird-hipped" Ornithischian order, researchers said Thursday. While still unsure of the exact species of dinosaur, lead researcher Masatoshi Sone from the University of Malaya said the discovery means "it is plausible that large dinosaur fossil deposits still remain in Malaysia". "We started the programme to look for dinosaur fossils two years ago. We are very excited to have found the tooth of the dinosaurian order called Ornithischian in central Pahang state" last year, he said. Researchers from Japan's Waseda University and Kumamoto University also took part in the project. Ornithischian, or "bird-hipped", is a major group comprised of herbivous dinosaurs such as triceratops. The dinosaur would have been about as big as a horse, Sone said. The darkened tooth fossil -- 13-mm-long (0.5-inches) and 10.5-mm-wide -- was discovered in a sedimentary rock formation by a team of Malaysian and Japanese palaeontologists. It was found close to where the first Malaysian dinosaur fossil, estimated to be at least 75 million years old, was discovered in 2012. That fossil was found to belong to a fish-eating predator belonging to the family of dinosaur known as Spinosaurid, believed to be semi-aquatic. The exact location of the discoveries is being kept secret in order to preserve it. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Takata denies report it did secret test on faulty airbag inflator | ||
| | ||
Tokyo (AFP) - Japanese auto parts maker Takata on Thursday denied a report that it carried out a secret test -- and covered up the results -- on a faulty airbag inflator linked to as many as five driver deaths. The embattled firm acknowledged that it did tests a decade ago, but said that they were unrelated to the airbag at the centre of the current crisis. "Our firm did not carry out such test (on inflators) in 2004, and we absolutely did not cover-up test results, as reported in the story," the firm said in a statement, referring to a report last week by the New York Times. Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
Sainsbury’s Christmas Commercial Has Blown John Lewis' Penguin Out Of The Water (SBRY) | ||
| | ||
Every year in the UK, department store John Lewis arguably wins the festive ad season, with a cute tale about a lonely struggle to brighten the Christmas of another person, backed by a lilting ballad. But this year the UK’s third biggest supermarket, Sainsbury’s, is eating John Lewis’ Christmas lunch. Sainsbury's epic 2014 Christmas commercial (watch the full ad below), created by ad agency AMV BBDO, isn't a fictional tale of a cute CGI animal, or even a fictional family eating Sainsbury's turkey dinner and sharing Sainsbury's gifts. The ad depicts the remarkable true story of real events that took place on Christmas Day in 1914, during World War I. On that day soldiers on both sides of the conflict downed their weapons, emerged from their trenches and exchanged seasonal songs and even gifts. The two armies also played a friendly games of football to mark the festive occasion, a warming image also featured in the ad. The only product that appears in the entire 3 minute 40 second-long full version of the commercial is a chocolate bar, which one soldier hands to the other as a gift. The supermarket has partnered with the Royal British Legion to sell the vintage-looking chocolate bar in stores for £1, with all profits going to the charity (a far cry from the £95 stuffed penguin John Lewis was retailing — which is now sold out.) This year's ad from Sainsbury's is, in our opinion, the best Christmas effort from UK shores. It doesn't follow the same trite formula that — while still effective (we absolutely loved this year's John Lewis penguin spot) — many viewers have come to expect as soon as festive ads start appearing on screens in November; it's not a hugely commercialized affair; and the cinematography is stunning — it won't look out of place in the cinema. Hats off to you Sainsbury's and AMV BBDO, you've produced an absolute stunner. Watch the full ad here: SEE ALSO: Facebook Is Stealing A Huge Chunk Of YouTube’s Audience Join the conversation about this story »  | ||
| |
