By Philip Benton Recently I attended a talk here in London about digital currencies and how they could be the answer to our economic woes and the key to rebuilding our broken society. I went in with an open mind, keen to broaden my interest in the curious world of crypto currencies, but somehow came out with more questions than answers. The talk was hosted by ex-investment banker Simon Dixon and Max Keiser of The Keiser Report fame. The opening...

By Rob Latham, @robilaz Following another summer of disappointment for England fans, there is a welcome tonic with the return of the domestic season on Friday (August 8). Bolton Wanderers supporters have endured another summer of concern, with yet more senior pros leaving the club and a few new names coming in to strengthen the squad following a disappointing campaign last time out. The biggest change at the club heading into the new season is yet another change in sponsorship....

By J T Coombes www.globalmagnacarta.com @GMagnaCarta   From the fall of Rome in 476 the recorded history of warfare has shown that the quest for power and then holding on to it has cost the lives of millions, if not billions of innocent people, manipulated into fighting by religious or political greed. As the war in Gaza turns into a bloodbath we are again witness to this constant barbarity and manipulation, with military thinking that has changed little over time....

By Nathan Lee  The Financial Times has introduced a new scheme encouraging young authors to tackle emerging business themes. The Bracken Bower Prize has been launched by the FT alongside McKinsey & Company, organisers of the Business Book of the Year Award, with the aim of unearthing new talent and encouraging writers to research ideas that could fill future business books of the year. A prize of £15,000 will be given for the best book proposal and will be awarded...

By Jack Peat, Editor of The London Economic All this talk of the high street demise seems rather perverse walking along the streets of Shoreditch. The pop-up shops selling locally sourced produce and the wealth of arts and crafts ventures that litter the street are a massive f**k off to multinationals, demonstrating that with a bit of intuition local shops can thrive. But even Shoreditch, in all its hipster glory, seems to be changing. At the heart of Shoreditch, arguably...

By Sallie Bale, Director, Communica PR In life, things change and move on. There are so many things in my everyday life that by the time I have children, will be obsolete. And many things are already going that way. Every now and again, it strikes me that something that I am doing makes no sense in today's world, and yet makes total sense to me. My children won't understand why the international sign for "taking a picture" is putting...

By Jo Loft, Co-Founder & Client Services Director, Fanatica Social media. Online word of mouth. Web 2.0. Web 3.0. It enabled Cancer Research UK to raise an unprecedented £8m in less than a week. It allowed 3,000 people share the mug shot of a violent criminal in California in two days – because they thought he was good-looking. But, if you’re a business-to-business organisation, so what? Brands need to be top of mind when decision-makers come to make their purchase....

By Charlotte Hope – Celebrity Writer Tulisa Contostavlos There really isn’t more I can add to this title. There’s just so much to SAY. I understand that Tulisa’s drug bust trial fell apart last week in court when it was decided that the ‘fake Sheikh’ was actually not telling the truth. The actual facts of this case seem to have been shrouded in the fame that Tulisa brought to the court room, but it seems she was set up for...

By Elsa Buchanan As US and EU leaders outline the finishing touches on their Russian economic sanctions, experts say Putin needs to be integrated to the debate, not economically quarantined The European Union and the US have finally imposed punitive economic sanctions on Russia in response to Moscow's continued support for separatists in eastern Ukraine. But as EU members are giving themselves big pats on the back – these are the most extensive EU sanctions imposed on Russia since the...