Quarterly investment companies roundup – Third quarter 2017
Quarterly investment companies roundup – Third quarter 2017 - Markets moved up a little over the course of the three months ended 30 September 2017. Regionally, emerging markets did well. The pound strengthened a bit relative to the US dollar but was flat against the euro. The oil price rose by more than 20%. In the investment companies sector, there were quite a few new issues. The median discount across all funds is still on a narrowing trend. The median premium...
Woman whose brain is dropping out of her skull needs to raise money for £130,000 operation to save her life
A desperately ill woman whose brain is dropping out of her skull won't live to see Christmas this year if she doesn't raise enough money for life saving surgery. Sarah Gearing, 40, has a condition which causes her body's connective tissues to collapse, meaning that many of her joints frequently fall apart. This condition, called Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, means that Sarah needs £130,000 to have a unique operation which will take place in Barcelona and last for over ten hours....
Aberdeen Latin American Income benefits from Brazilian and Mexican exposures
Aberdeen Latin American Income (ALAI) has announced its annual results for the year ended 31 August 2017. During the period, the company's NAV total return was 25.1% and its share price total return was 23.7%, which the company says compares against a benchmark total return of 21.4%. The superior NAV total return reflects a widening of the company’s discount during the period from 11.8% to 13.3%. Brazilian exposure the biggest contributor The manager says that Brazil was the biggest contributor...
Five ways you can reduce the time spent on processes in your business
Most businesses waste time. Whether it’s pointless internal emails, unnecessary meetings or poor organisation – too many companies lose too much valuable time. Many of the emails, meetings and organisational issues will stem from poor processes. If you want your business to be a smooth-running well-oiled machine then you need to roll your sleeves up and consider these five factors, which can cut out productivity-sapping wasted time. Conduct a full review Don’t even start trying to change anything with your...
I was a slave for 13 years in Cambridge and in London- help me save girls from my fate
Around the world around 46 million people are trapped in some form of slavery - the equivalent to the entire population of Spain. Sexual exploitation counts for 54% of all human trafficking victims. As Rebecca Mott’s astonishingly candid story reveals, slavery is actually very close to home. And we can all make a difference to end it. "For me slavery means when you are doing something against your will - where somebody is controlling you, exploiting you for their gain. You...
Corbyn supporters spectacularly troll Britain First leader
For anyone not familiar with Britain First, it's a single Facebook page for people to share hateful and largely illiterate ideas that sink to a whole new level of stupid. Britain First describes itself as a Political Party standing up for nationalism and British Sovereignty, opposing colonisation and promoting Christianity. Britain First generally share fake pictures of foreigners going about their business in Middle Eastern cities, claiming the snap was taken in York or Swindon. Photos of Pakistani cricket supporters...
“Flagship” Conservative policy defeated- is the Tory government of Theresa May about to fall?”
The Conservative Party is staring into oblivion after not being able to muster a majority to vote to protect their flagship policy - Iain Duncan Smith’s vilified Universal Credit. The Labour Party voted to pause the botched benefits reforms with 299 votes to 0 to win another popular victory after their recent unchallenged vote to roll back nurses’ pay cap. "The ayes to the right 299, the noes to the left, 0. - The ayes have it, the ayes have it,”...
Petals produce a ‘blue halo’ that helps bees find flowers
Petals produce a 'blue halo' that helps bees find flowers, reveals a new study. Researchers found that several common flower species have nanoscale ridges on the surface of their petals that meddle with light when viewed from certain angles. The nanostructures scatter light particles in the blue to ultraviolet colour spectrum, generating a subtle effect that scientists have labelled the 'blue halo'. Ursinia speciosa is a member of the Daisy family. The region at the base of the petals contains...
A computer that thinks for itself has mastered the world’s most difficult game with no human input, scientists have revealed
A computer that thinks for itself has mastered the world's most difficult game with no human input, scientists have revealed. The Artificial Intelligence computer program taught itself the game, and scientists claim the breakthrough is a gamechanger with all sorts of applications. Deep Mind's updated AlphaGo algorithm defeated its predecessor by 100-nil - which in turn had been too good for Go champion Lee Sedol last year. Go is a 3,000 year-old Chinese game and has trillions of possible moves...