The 15-day celebration of Chinese new year started on Friday, 31st January. It marks the end of the year of the water snake and welcomes the start of the year of the wooden horse. Here are a few pointers for the year ahead. The Chinese zodiac – or Shēngxiào – is a calendar system originating in the Han dynasty (206-220BC), which names each of the years in its 12-year cycle after an animal: the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig, in order. According to the system, the universe is made up of five elements – earth, water, fire, wood and metal – which interact with the 12 animals, resulting in the specific character of the year ahead. People born in the year of the horse are said to be animated, active and energetic – they love being in a crowd. They are quick to learn independence – foals can walk minutes after birth – and they have a…
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Amanda Knox found guilty again. Russian men losing years to vodka. Progress in hunt for pope's blood. City trader loses £400k in 30 seconds because of 'fat finger'. The opossum is the only marsupial that lives outside Australia. Michael Barrett named as new CEO of Millennial Media. Stephan Beringer joins VivaKi as chief growth officer and president of Audience On Demand. Jon Biggs joins MediaMonks UK as creative director. MediaCom’s Stefan Bardega appointed as chief digital officer at ZenithOptimedia. INVESTEC The South African lender and asset manager has appointed veteran banker Ben Smith to run its Australian investment banking arm, the latest attempt to turn around the loss-making business. Smith will succeed Christian Nicks, who resigned from his position as head of the unit after four years, the bank said on Wednesday. WALTER INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT CORP The asset management and mortgage servicing company said it appointed Gary Tillett as chief financial officer. Tillett joins from PricewaterhouseCoopers. CETIP SA MERCADOS ORGANIZADOS Brazil's largest securities clearinghouse said…
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The dating website, OKCupid.com, said, that if you want a first date to end in sex, the best question to ask is; “Do you like beer?” If you are looking for long-term romance, the question should be; “Do you like horror movies?” Whatever theories we might put forward for this, the website forces users to answer hundreds of seemingly innocuous questions, and when you are looking at Big Data, the theories don't really matter; it is enough that the correlations are there, whether they seem to make sense or not. When it comes to judging character, we like to believe that gut instinct beats box-ticking. Jason Dana, from Yale University, says: “We have a deep-seated need to feel we can judge character.” But studies suggest that we can't and a new paper, co-authored by Dana, is particularly revealing. He looked at 'unstructured interviews', the type of free-wheeling interview that is usual in getting a job. Participants were asked to predict the academic performance of two…
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Now 37, Hassabis was born in London and quickly showed academic promise and skill at chess. Aged 13, he reached the rank of chess master and was number two in the world, under 14. He was accelerated through school and did his A-levels two years early. He worked in video games at Bullfrog, helping design Theme Park, aged 17, with Peter Molyneux. The game sold millions and won a Golden Joystick award. Hassabis left to study Computer Science Tripos at Cambridge University, graduating with a double first-class honours in 1997. On graduation, he rejoined Molyneux at Lionhead Studios, where worked as a lead AI programmer on Black & White. In 1998, he left to set up his own games development company, Elixir Studios. It grew to 60-strong and signed deals with Vivendi and Microsoft; games included Republic: the Revolution and Evil Genius. The intellectual property and technology rights were sold and it closed in 2005. In 1999, aged 23, he won the Mind Sports Olympiad,…
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Reporter Dan Evans tells Old Bailey of 'an enormous conspiracy' at the News of the World. 'Even the office cat knew it went on'. Boris Johnson backs use of water cannon. 'Stem cells' created in less than 30 minutes. Millionaire asked ex-wife to stay as housemaid. Poorest face £80 council tax rise. Army sent to Somerset flood zone. Call for longer school days. Doctors 'try to wake Schumacher from artificial coma'. MORGAN STANLEY The financial services company said on Tuesday that it had named Erskine Bowles, a prominent democrat and investor, as independent lead director of its board of directors, replacing C Robert Kidder. Bowles is co-chair of the national commission on fiscal responsibility and reform, which was created by President Barack Obama in 2010. PIMCO The bond giant said Mark Kiesel, Virginie Maisonneuve, Scott Mather and Mihir Worah, currently managing directors at the firm, have been appointed deputy chief investment officers. It also said managing directors Charles Lahr and Marc Seidner will leave, while Sudi…
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Hairless hero: Iranian teacher shaves head in solidarity with bullied pupil. Top Gear 'aimed at middle-aged men with a mental age of nine'. UK to let in 500 most vulnerable Syrians. Barclays could close 400 branches. Madelaine police back in Portugal. Get out: 50,000 Americans sign petition to get 'reckless and dangerous' Bieber deported. Learner driver caught speeding on motorway was 'supervised only by her pet parrot'. 'If you can get over your laughter that’d be great': Judge tells jurors in sheep sex case near Spurs training ground. KPMG The audit, tax and advisory firm said it has appointed Mike Walters as head of its financial risk management group. Walters joins from Barclays where he was global head of compliance. BAIRD PRIVATE WEALTH MANAGEMENT The company said on Monday that Director Jarrett Kovics has been promoted to regional director. Kovics joined the firm in 2010 as branch manager of Baird's Dallas wealth management office. He has earlier worked at Morgan Stanley and Citi Smith Barney.…
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Revealed: spy agencies targeting phone apps. Children in care 'made to eat vomit'. RBS to report £8bn losses for 2013. Ukraine’s PM tenders resignation. New Zealander James Grant stabs shark with a knife to get free, swims ashore, sutures wounds and goes to pub for a beer. US mulls execution via firing squads. Jamie Oliver closes Union Jacks restaurants. Queen is broke. Opera singer who can’t stop farting is sacked. Temperatures to plunge to -7C as late January cold snap sets in across Britain. SANTANDER The Spanish bank, which is making a big push in the United States, has appointed the former head of the U.S. deposit guarantee fund, Sheila Bair, as an independent board member, it said. OSLO STOCK EXCHANGE Leiv Askvig, the chairman of the stock exchange, resigned after breaching the bourse's own notification of trade rules, the exchange said in a statement. Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer, the deputy chairwoman, will take over as acting chair until the annual general meeting in May, the…
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Stanislas Wawrinka shocks Rafael Nadal to win Australian Open title. Snowden: NSA spied on firms. Hollande looks to move on after split. Greece faces new black hole. Stephen Hawking: 'There are no black holes'. London 'brain drain' starving UK regions of young talent. Gina Collins hired as chief marketing officer at Build-A-Bear Workshop. Irish mobile marketing company Brandtone, which works for leading brands in fast-growth markets, has appointed Dervilla Mullan to oversee the development of its proprietary technology. Frederic Bonn appointed as executive creative director at JWT New York. Frederic Bonn appointed as executive creative director at JWT New York. The Swiss bank said Rair Simonyan would join as chairman of the board of directors of OOO UBS Bank, Russia, subject to approval and Elena Titova as group country chief executive,Russia. Simonyan was at Morgan Stanley from 1998-2012. Most recently, he was an advisor on financial assets to the president of Rosneft and a member of the supervisory board of the Russian Regional Development…
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Syria peace talks begin in Geneva. Optimism as Davos meeting begins. Is working nights bad for you? Lib Dems warn of 'bloodbath' as Rennard prepares legal action against party. Protesters killed in Kiev as violence intensifies. Daily Telegraph sacks editor. Pimco chief executive resigns. Britain is educating children for jobs that won’t exist. EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK Bundesbank Vice President Sabine Lautenschlaeger will officially replace Joerg Asmussen at the European Central Bank on Jan. 27. Asmussen left the ECB on Jan. 7, two years into his eight-year term, to rejoin the German government as state secretary in the labor ministry. ALLIANZ SE The German insurer late on Tuesday said Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive officer and co-chief investment officer at its asset management unit Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO), had resigned, but would stay on the Allianz International Executive Committee. UBS AG The Swiss bank's Wealth Management Americas unit said it has hired a team of six financial advisers from Morgan Stanley . AMLIN PLC The British…
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Barman tried to arrest Tony Blair for war crimes in a trendy London restaurant. Syria evidence shows 'industrial-scale killing'. Rennard threatens to sue Lib Dems. Hospitals to get more money for A&E. School ban urged on energy drinks. M40 pub offers ‘deadly temptation’. Delayed Ryanair passengers loot drinks trolley and steal cigarettes in 'barbaric' revolt. JPMORGAN CHASE & CO Veteran dealmaker Klaus Diederichs is to retire after 34 years with the company, the bank said in an internal memo seen by Reuters. Diederichs has held numerous leadership roles in his time with the company, most recently as chairman of investment banking for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). AVIVA PLC The investment and insurance products company appointed Ian Foy as managing director of personal motor, home and specialist lines in its UK and Ireland general insurance business. JPMORGAN CHASE & CO Veteran dealmaker Klaus Diederichs is to retire after 34 years with the company, the bank said in an internal memo seen by Reuters.…
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