Author: adminside
For centuries, medieval castles — hulking, isolated triumphs of masonry — have held a special place in the Western imagination, evoking at once a sense of history, fantasy, war and romance. They are the perennial backdrops for period dramas and children’s books, travel brochures and fashion spreads. But in his latest book, “Stone Age: Ancient Castles of Europe,” writer and photographer Frédéric Chaubin set out to disrupt the familiar stereotypes, using prose and photography to link the medieval with the Modernist. “Instead of just considering them as historical remains, I was much more interested in building a link between this…
Asprawling $600-million movie studio led by Hollywood star Robert De Niro has been given the go-ahead by New York planning authorities, according to the architects behind the complex. More than two years since plans were first unveiled, construction work on the 775,000-square-foot Wildflower Studios can now begin after the project won approval from the New York’s Department of Buildings, said design firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) in a press release. Dubbed the world’s “first vertical commercial film, television and creative studio,” the seven-story building in Astoria, Queens, is expected to house 11 sound stages upon its completion in late 2023. The project is backed…
In 1900, Ferdinand Porsche and Ludwig Lohner unveiled an electric car with battery-powered motors attached to its front wheels. It was seen as a sensation, but the technology never took off as petrol cars accelerated to world domination. More than a century later, in-wheel motors are making a comeback. Mounted in the rim of an electric vehicle’s wheels, the motors increase efficiency by delivering power directly to where it’s needed most. “In-wheel motors are a game changer,” says Luka Ambrozic, chief commercial officer of Slovenian company Elaphe Propulsion Technologies, one of the leading developers of the technology. They offer the “ultimate freedom…
Made.com has moved closer to collapsing into administration, after rescue talks to find a buyer for the struggling online furniture business failed. The company, known for its fashionable homeware including velvet sofas, lighting and rattan furniture, announced at the start of October that it was in discussions with a number of interested parties. It had set a deadline for receiving firm offers of the end of the month. The retailer said none of its potential buyers were able to meet the timetable, adding it was “no longer in receipt of funding proposals or possible offers for the issued and to…
UK banks are steeling themselves for a windfall tax by stealth as the new chancellor tries to plug a £40bn hole in the public finances. City lobbyists at UK Finance are concerned that banks will not be compensated for Jeremy Hunt’s U-turn on corporation tax, which will now mean the levy rises from 19% to 25% next year. It is understood the lobby group is likely to push the point in a letter to the chancellor before the budget update on 31 October. UK Finance declined to comment. The former chancellor Rishi Sunak had promised last year to cut a…
Barclays has revealed a 40% slump in profits after putting aside £1.3bn to cover a US trading blunder. The UK bank said pre-tax profits fell between April and June – from £2.5bn a year earlier to £1.5bn – falling short of the analysts’ consensus forecast of £1.6bn. The lender was knocked by a jump in conduct costs, which increased from £143m a year earlier to £1.3bn, after it was forced to start the process of buying back US securities it had not been authorised to sell. Some of that money has been put aside to deal with the potential fine…
Barclays has become the second big bank to breeze past profit forecasts this week after an increase in borrowing costs and bond trading during the UK’s market meltdown pushed earnings to £2bn this quarter. The results, which follow a higher-than-expected windfall at HSBC on Tuesday, will further add to calls for the government to tax banks’ excess earnings, as lenders reap the benefits of higher interest rates and volatility across UK markets. Barclays, which had been expected to reveal a slight dip in earnings, revealed that pre-tax profits rose 6% in the three months to the end of September, about £200m higher than the…
The average interest rate on the most popular US home loan rose to its highest level since 2001 as tightening financial conditions weigh on the housing sector, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) showed on Wednesday. The average contract rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage rose by 22 basis points to 7.16% for the week ended October 21 while the MBA’s Market Composite Index, a measure of mortgage loan application volume, fell 1.7% from a week earlier. Mortgage application activity is at its slowest pace since 1997. Mortgage rates have more than doubled since the beginning of the year,…
On Wednesday, in the Champions League’s Group C, Bayern Munich gained a spectacular 4-2 victory over Viktoria Plzen and led the group as the leader with 12 points. Viktoria stands fourth in the group with zero points, as it was their fourth consecutive defeat. In the 4-2 win against Viktoria, Bayern’s Sadio Mané scored the first goal in the 10th minute, Thomas Müller scored the second in the 14th minute, Leon Goretzka scored the third in the 25th minute, and Leon Goretzka scored the fourth in the 35th minute. Viktoria’s Adam Vlkanova scored the first goal for his team in…
Elon Musk is scheduled to spend the next few days with lawyers for Twitter, answering questions ahead of an October trial that will determine whether he must follow through on his $44bn agreement to acquire the social platform after attempting to back out of the deal. The deposition, planned for Monday, Tuesday and a possible extension on Wednesday, will not be public. As of Sunday evening, it was not clear whether Musk would appear in person or by video. Reuters reported the deposition did not happen Monday nor was a reason given for the delay, citing sources with knowledge of…