By Marina Schlotzhauer Gone are the good old days where the major risks for businesses were costs running out of control or the threat of imminent local competition. Globalization has introduced a whole new array of challenges that vary from foreign financial economic ripples to cyber security and beyond. Just in time production and the outsourcing of unskilled labour seems very good from a microeconomics level; However, when applied at a global scale, it increases the chances of sudden demand...

By Stephen Mayne @finalreel  thefinalreel.co.uk A week on and the dust is settling on the 2015 Berlin International Film Festival. As ever with the Berlinale, this edition mixed the sublime with the ridiculous in a programme so large unwitting critics have been known to lose sense of direction and never emerge again. So what did this February film bonanza bring? By all accounts a worthy winner in the shape of Jafar Panahi’s Taxi. The acclaimed Iranian filmmaker whose previous effort...

BY David Thomson With less that 100 days until the General Election all the opinion polls are saying that there will be a “hung parliament” with either the Conservatives and Labour being the largest party. As a result, both major parties will need to start to prepare for a coalition with some, if not all, the smaller parties at Westminster. Former Cabinet Minister and EU Commissioner, Lord Mandelson, said recently that the lesson to be learned from the 2010 election is...

By Leslie Byron Pitt @Afrofilmviewer afrofilmviewer.com Nowadays I find myself, much more compelled to revisit the latest features of Cronenberg as opposed to his more explicit shock flicks that appeared earlier in his career. My main reason for this I feel is, as a director, Cronenberg has elevated his themes of body horror, carnal pleasures, and creative enterprise gone awry, to its peak. His love the viral and transfer of fluids hasn’t left him, however, while his films had a more...

By Steve Taggart It is fashion season and New York is already behind us, but London is in full swing and Paris and Milan are getting prepared for their most stylish week of the year. If you want to be part of the world of fashion take a look at these great last minute deals and treat yourself to a luxurious stay this February/March. Mingle amongst the fashionistas in these four beautiful hotels. LONDON The fourth international fashion showcase in London opened on...

 By Steve Taggart The days of students living like the TV show The Young Ones are long gone. Cold beans, even colder rooms and holes in the wall, have been replaced by private cinema rooms, gyms and reading rooms. 2014 saw a record number if university applicants. UCAS recorded over 500,000 people were accepted onto a course, a growth of almost 3 and a half per cent on the previous year. It was the first time the figures ever surpassed the...

By Emily Wight About halfway through Maidan, a man climbs up the side of a disused bus with its windows smashed and seats wrenched off their hinges, and yells at the sea of riot police lined up behind it: “Are you people or animals?” None of them respond, but with explosions and chants roaring through the air, they may well not have heard. If it were to have emerged from Syria or Iraq over the past few years, footage like...

By Esin Huseyin (esin_huseyin) Marika Hackman has previously been dubbed the queen of electro folk, but this album blows her out of that category completely. She opens her long-anticipated debut album with the lyrics “Oh, I am bold,” and she’s not far off; this album is packed with 12 tracks bursting with eerie ambience. The opening track ‘Drown’ lulls us with rhythmic, shimmering guitar riffs and ghostly vocals. The song explodes into a dark merging of plucky guitars and sinister...

By Bea Patel, Director of Shop for an agent - The Estate Agent Comparison Site It’s not too late to have your say on Redbridge Council’s proposed Private Rented Property Licensing Scheme Redbridge Council is making proposals for a Private Rented Property Licensing Scheme across the borough. In its consultation phase, its aim is to design a scheme that works with both the council and landlords, and to consult with as many local landlords, tenants, managing agents, residents, business and other...