A florist refused to deliver a bouquet to a grieving mother - because they were scared of venturing onto a traveller's site. Online retailer eFlorist told Lindsey Roberts, 36, that her £50 order to a close friend had been refused because because staff "did not feel comfortable" visiting the address. The mum of five believes that the act is discriminatory against people from travelling backgrounds. She said: “I asked why and they said they feared for their personal safety, which...

QuotedData’s economic round up – March 2018 is a collation of recent insights on markets and economies taken from the comments made by chairmen and investment managers of investment companies – have a read and make your own minds up. Please remember that nothing in this note is designed to encourage you to buy or sell any of the companies mentioned. Kindly sponsored by Polar Capital March - Economic and Political Roundup Roundup In mid-February, stock markets fell on concerns that strong...

Alex Garland’s seat at the directors table is one that he has worked for.  Before he cut his teeth behind the camera with the superbly crafted sci-fi techno thriller, Ex Machina, Garland penned novels and screenplays, the likes of which, The Beach and 28 Days Later, have cemented themselves as cult classics.  With his sophomore feature, Annihilation, Garland swings for the fences and knocks a curve ball out of the park.  It is as ambitious in its mediations as it...

QuotedData investment companies roundup – March 2018 – is our latest roundup of news; price, NAV and discount movements; flows in and out of the sector and report on full year dividends announced over the month of February 2018. Kindly sponsored by Baillie Gifford. March Investment Companies Roundup Equity markets continued to run up in early February, supported by strong corporate earnings and better economic data. However, in mid-February, they fell on concerns that strong global growth and emerging evidence of rising inflation...

As if an excuse for indulgence was ever necessary; St Patrick’s Day falls on a Saturday (17th March) this year. Alongside ‘official’ London celebrations taking place between 16th-18th March – notably including a huge parade – many of the city’s bars and restaurants will celebrate Ireland’s Patron Saint in their own unique way. One of our favourite London restaurants, Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill will host a Feast of St Patrick’s on Friday 16th and Saturday 17th March. At £70...

Professor Stephen Hawking CH CBE FRS FRSA has sadly passed away at the age of 76. He died peacefully at his home in Cambridge in the early hours of this morning. Hawking was born on 8th January 1942 in Oxford, England, the eldest of four children, Mary, Philippa and Edward, of Dr Frank Hawking and Eileen Isobel Hawking née Walker. His parents' home was in north London, but because of the bombing of London during the Second World War, his...

Those three little words, perhaps the most important you’ll ever hear: Cheese and wine? Asked as a question, obviously, to which you can answer: yes, please. So, how to make this special culinary affair really worth it? Being a Cheese Whiz Choose your cheese first. You will want to sample it, so choose a local delicatessen who will let you nibble. Cheeses fall into three main categories: those that anyone can enjoy, those for the connoisseur and ‘wildcard’. If you do not want...

Brits believe they deserve more than £5k on top of their current salary, according to research. A study of 2,000 fulltime UK employees revealed the average worker believes they deserve £5,321 on top of their existing salary. The majority put this down to working extremely hard and deserving recognition for it. Others justified a pay rise because they work weekends, have a lot of qualifications or get a lot of praise from colleagues. Three in ten simply put it down...

With 27.2 million people expected to cruise this year, a million and a half up on last year, 80% of travel agencies expecting to increase sales and a total of 27 new ships scheduled to host their maiden voyage, it’s beyond contention that the cruising industry is going from strength to strength. With the cruising industry estimated to make a massive $126 billion in 2018, with an average of half a million passengers onboard a total of 449 ships throughout...