Monday, 4 December 2017

Facebook Expanding London Office

As part of an expansion to its U.K. headquarters, Facebook plans to hire 800 new staff in London. “The new hires -- predominately in engineering roles and to be recruited over the next year -- will bring the number of staff working for Facebook in the U.K. to 2,300,” Bloomberg reports. “Facebook joins a number of large tech companies doubling down on their presence in London.”

The new Facebook office at Rathbone Place in London.
Photographer: Ben Lister/PA Wire
  • Facebook to Hire 800 New Workers in London


By 
Giles Turner
  • New jobs to be created primarily in engineering roles
  • Expansion comes amid scrutiny over Russian impact on election
Facebook Inc. is to hire 800 new staff in London, expanding its U.K. headquarters despite coming under increasing scrutiny from the country’s lawmakers.
The new hires -- predominately in engineering roles and to be recruited over the next year -- will bring the number of staff working for Facebook in the U.K. to 2,300. The social media company will also offer space in its new office to U.K.-based startups as part of an accelerator program, the company said Monday.
Facebook’s expansion comes at a time when Britain is so alarmed by the extent and scale of Russian interference in U.K. politics via social media networks that its lawmakers are getting ready to interrogate Silicon Valley giants -- including Facebook and Twitter Inc. -- in Washington.

Facebook joins a number of large tech companies doubling down on their presence in London, despite the ongoing uncertainty about the U.K.’s pending exit from the European Union.
"It’s a sign of confidence in our country that innovative companies like Facebook invest here," U.K. Chancellor Philip Hammond said in a statement.
London will be Facebook’s largest engineering hub outside the U.S., according the statement.

The U.K. is currently lobbying hard for tech talent. The government plans to double the number of visas available to highly skilled workers, including technology-savvy candidates. Facebook, Snap Inc. and Google all announced plans to increase hiring in the U.K., while Apple Inc. is leasing about 500,000 square-feet of office space at Battersea Power Station on the south bank of London’s River Thames.
Among European countries, the U.K. was the most pessimistic about the future of the European technology industry, according to a report last week from London-based venture capital firm Atomico, with 18 percent of respondents -- which included thousands of founders and investors -- saying they were less optimistic than they were a year earlier. Over the last 12 months it’s also become harder for British startups to raise new funding, according to 32 percent of founders questioned.

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Saturday, 2 December 2017

All you need to know about bitcoin’s rise, from US$0.01 to US$11,000

THE initial price of bitcoin, set in 2010, was less than one US cent. On Nov 29, it crossed US$11,000.
Saturday, 2 Dec 2017
Once seen as the province of nerds, libertarians and drug dealers, bitcoin today is drawing millions of dollars from hedge funds. The recent price surge may be a bubble. Or it could be a belated recognition by the broader financial community that so-called cryptocurrencies – digital forms of money – are going mainstream. It might be time to nail down what a bitcoin is, and why its price has been going through the roof.
1 What exactly is bitcoin?
It’s a form of money that’s remarkable for what it’s not: It’s not currency you can hold in your hand. It’s not recognized by most Main Street stores. It’s not issued or backed by a national government. At their core, bitcoin and its imitators are sets of software protocols for generating digital tokens and for tracking transactions in a way that makes it hard to counterfeit or re-use tokens. A bitcoin has value only to the extent that its users agree that it does.
The original software was laid out in a white paper in 2008 by a person or group of people using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, whose identify remains unknown, despite several efforts to assign or claim credit. Online fantasy games had long used virtual currencies. The key idea behind bitcoin was the blockchain – a publicly visible, largely anonymous online ledger that records bitcoin transactions.
3 How does that work?
Think about what happens if you make an online transfer using a bank. It verifies that you have the funds, subtracts that amount from one spot in a giant database it maintains of accounts and balances, and credits it in another. You can see the result if you log on to your account but the transaction is under the bank’s control. You’re trusting the bank to remove the right amount of money, and the bank is also making sure you can’t spend that money again. The blockchain is a database that performs those tracking functions -- but without the bank or any other central authority.
4 Who performs the bank function for bitcoin?
It’s done by consensus on a decentralised network. Bitcoin transactions can be made through sites offering electronic “wallets” that upload the data to the network. New transactions are bundled together into a batch and broadcast to the network for verification by so-called bitcoin miners.
5 Who gets to be a miner?
Anybody, so long as you have really fast computers, a lot of electricity and a desire to solve puzzles. The transaction data in each batch is encrypted by a formula that can be unlocked only through trial-and-error guessing on a massive scale. The miners put large-scale computing power to work as they compete to be the first to solve it. If a miner’s answer is verified by others, the data is added to a linked chain of blocks of data and the miner is rewarded with newly issued bitcoin.
6 How does the system prevent cheating?
Because every block contains data linking to earlier blocks, an attempt to spend the same bitcoin twice would mean revising many links in the chain. Plus, as miners compete, they verify each other’s work each step of the way.
7 Wasn’t bitcoin used by drug dealers?
Yes, back when its primary appeal was its relative anonymity. It was, and still is, used by websites peddling everything from arms to drugs to paid hits. One such US$1.2bil marketplace, Silk Road, was shut down by federal agents in 2013. But others soon took its place. Joseph Stiglitz, a Nobel laureate in economics, said recently that bitcoin “ought to be outlawed” because it’s designed to evade regulation and “doesn’t serve any socially useful function”.
8 What changed?
Bitcoin’s reputation has improved, partly because there are fewer large-scale thefts like the one in 2014 in which bitcoins were stolen from a bitcoin exchange called Mt Gox. (Security has improved, but it’s still an issue.) And many technology and financial firms grew interested in blockchain as an idea separate from bitcoin.
9 What is blockchain’s appeal?
Enthusiasts see it as a new way of doing all sorts of business. Costs could be lower without a central middleman doing the work of keeping track of transactions, and charging for it. Banks and stock exchanges have invested heavily in developing blockchain technology, while retailers like Wal-Mart Stores Inc. are experimenting with using blockchain for ensuring food safety. Central banks are even speculating about issuing blockchain-based official currencies. And other forms of blockchain emerged, often using their own cryptocurrencies to facilitate transactions. The most prominent is the etherium blockchain, sometimes described as a platform for so-called smart contracts.
10 Why hasn’t the competition hurt bitcoin?
As the number of cryptocurrencies and tokens multiply – they now reach into the thousands – bitcoin remains the best-known, time-tested and valuable. That’s led to it being viewed by some as the most predictable venue for people wanting to bet on blockchain’s exponential growth.
11 What explains the surge in bitcoin’s price?
New investors, and expectations of many more to follow, has increased the price of a bitcoin about 11-fold so far this year. CME Group
 and other exchanges plan to offer bitcoin futures contracts, potentially expanding bitcoin’s appeal. The fact that bitcoin’s software guarantees that there will be a finite supply has added to the fear of missing out for some investors. Coinbase, a bitcoin exchange, was overwhelmed by two to three times its normal traffic on Nov. 29, as new users signed up, making its service temporarily unavailable to some users. New crypto-focused hedge funds are opening up weekly, and already surpass 100. Most of them invest at least part of their funds in bitcoin.

12 Is this a bubble?
Possibly. Some people, most notably JPMorgan Chase & Co Jamie Dimon, call bitcoin a “fraud”. Yet his own bank is considering offering bitcoin futures to clients. Fund manager Mike Novogratz calls cryptocurrencies “the biggest bubble of our lifetimes”, and yet he is starting a US$500mil fund to invest in them. Depending on whom you talk to, bitcoin’s value could double again – or it could go down to zero.
13 How can I buy bitcoin or invest in it?
There are a bunch of ways, all with different risks. People can buy the coins directly from exchanges like Coinbase. Accredited investors can also invest in vehicles like the Bitcoin Investment Trust, which tracks bitcoin’s price. Soon investors will be able to invest through their regular brokers in bitcoin futures, and possibly in bitcoin exchange-traded funds, once regulators feel comfortable with the idea. But be warned: Even plenty of people who believe in bitcoin’s future think some wild rides lie ahead. As if in proof, the Nov 29 surge to over US$11,000 was followed by a 20% drop. And yes, you can bet on a crash.

 https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2017/12/02/all-you-need-to-know-about-bitcoins-rise-from-us001-to-us11000/

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EU propaganda and a frightening roadmap to federalism

The EU has produced a frightening new report arguing for vastly greater centralisation, deeper federalism, and yet further emasculation of the democratic nation state. These people are dangerous and delusional. Brexit cannot happen fast enough


European_commission
Delusion Central
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Daniel Huggins
On 2 December 2017 10:07
In a shocking new report -- the latest in a series to come out of Brussels -- the EU’s technocrats set out in detail an alarming set of plans that are now under serious consideration.
The plans outlined in the report, innocuously titled ‘Reaching Out to EU Citizens: A New Opportunity’, detail an Orwellian-scaled propaganda project and a roadmap towards a fully federalised European Union.
The dossier, written by Luc Van den Brande -- Special Adviser to the President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker -- aims to provide solutions to safeguard their fading federalist fantasies.
The report recognises that “winning the hearts and minds” of the European population is fundamental. It comes in the wake of disastrous election results for the cause of ‘ever closer Union’ which should leave the Eurocrats quaking. Eurosceptic parties made gains throughout the EU.
The apathy millions of ‘European citizens’ feel towards the EU is finally permeating into the minds of Jean-Claude Juncker and his cabal of fervent federalists. With elections to the European Parliament scheduled to be held in 2019, the report recognises the need to act now, and outlines a series of solutions.
In an attempt to reverse the seemingly ever growing Eurosceptic and Euro-critical trend, the report argues “the role of education is therefore fundamental”, and it is “necessary to mobilise these young adults in support of the European process”. Identifying the older generation’s natural inclination towards the nation state as an obstacle, the report takes a longer-term view, and calls for a radical new approach, aimed at the young.
The most shocking feature of the report hints that children as young as four should undergo a centrally planned ‘European’ education. It advises that children and adolescents should be continually taught this programme throughout their entire time within the education system.
No one with any concept of history should need reminding which of Europe’s past regimes have attempted such policies. Insidious developments such as this must be vocally combated, and rejected out of hand.
The report goes on to outline what this ‘European Studies’ programme would entail. Designed not only to emphasize the benefits of the EU (which is, of course, a prerequisite), it also plans to lecture on the cost and horror a “disunited Europe” would cause. A key facet of the intended course of study is the EU’s alleged role in keeping Europe politically stable since the war, happily omitting the considerably more significant role played by NATO and the United States.
In collaboration with this so-called ‘educational’ propaganda, the report states that the use of celebrities to boost their popularity should also be considered. To be designated as “Union Ambassadors”, the EU no doubt wishes to utilise the credibility of celebrities – and the near divine status they are held in by many -- to boost its bruised reputation.
It then goes on, in a move many critics have branded as ‘concerning’, to advocate for a “training programme” to educate journalists. Reminiscent of an initiative more suited to the Ministry of Truth, this follows a series of other accusations that Brussels is creating a ‘propaganda machine’ in an attempt to circumvent its existential crisis.
Astonishingly, the report also advocates for the creation of a single EU President. Calling for the “direct election of a single President of the European Union”, a single figurehead no doubt intended to be Jean-Claude Juncker, if created it would be a bold step on the road to federalism. The report will no doubt raise further fears amongst many that the EU is fully and openly embracing the road towards super-statehood.
In previously published reports, as well as in comments made by Juncker himself, it has become clear the Commission are seeking the introduction of a new executive office. This office, which may come under the guise of President or Chancellor, could seek powers well in excess of the EU’s current competencies. The ability to alter and revise the financial budgets of Nation States is reportedly one such power, which would irrevocably alter the EU-State balance of power.
In addition to a single EU President, the report outlines another new initiative, “citizen’s assemblies”. While the report only goes into limited detail here, many critics have expressed alarm over a move which they view as a brazen attack on the Nation State and all that it encompasses.
By calling for the direct election of a President, an all-powerful executive and regional assemblies, the EU has signalled its intent: a unified federal Europe, with Jean-Claude Juncker at its head.
With a flag, currency, anthem, seemingly an army in development and discussion of regional “citizen assemblies”, the proposals in this report -- if implemented -- would bring us to the last stretch along the federalist road. This is no longer federalism through the back door – which has occurred for decades. Nor is this typical of an organisation known to intentionally hide its federalist aims. The report is here for anyone who cares to read it.
The report follows in the vein of many a mild mannered and softly spoken Eurocratic enemy of the Nation State, whose attempts to establish a federal European Union remain undimmed. In a report which appears to advocate for indoctrination, in all but name, of the young through education, and which calls for a federal state, Brexit couldn’t have come at a better time.
We voted to Get Britain Out of the EU, and as these troubling moves demonstrate, it’s now more imperative than ever to guarantee we Leave. Now is not the time for our politicians, of any party, to contemplate betraying Brexit.
Daniel Huggins is a Research Executive at cross-party grassroots campaign Get Britain Out




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Thursday, 30 November 2017

JAPAN TIMES Brexit Headlines: 1 Nov - 30 Nov 2017

The Japan Times
Brexit Headlines



British Parliament opens ill-tempered debate on Brexit plan

WORLD / POLITICSNOV 15, 2017


British Prime Minister Theresa May's blueprint to leave the European Union emerged unscathed from the first day of debate in Parliament on legislation to sever ties with the bloc on Tuesday. The EU withdrawal bill is seen by May as crucial to give companies confidence ...


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Tuesday, 28 November 2017

City office developments take a pause after bumper 2017

City office development fell sharply over the last six months, with the Square Mile pausing after 2017 saw the highest number of completions since the turn of the century.
Tuesday 28 November 2017 12:01am
The City Takes On The Three Peaks With The Outward Bound Trust And The Royal Navy And Royal Marines Charity
Some 3.4m square feet of offices have completed in 2017 (Source: Getty)

Development activity dropped by 11 per cent, with 7.3m square feet of office space currently under construction. Only eight new schemes, representing 804,000 square feet, started during the six months to September, according to the Deloitte London Crane Survey released today. This is significantly lower than the 1.1m square feet average.
However, the drop off follows 3.4m square feet completing in 2017 so far, the highest volume to complete in the City since 2000.
“Developers in central London continue to take stock of the current market dynamics recognising a number of disrupting factors such as costs, Brexit uncertainty and the pace of workplace change," said Deloitte Real Estate's head of insight Shaun Dawson.
"We’re seeing a continued shift in timings for proposed schemes. With almost static levels of demolition hovering around 8m square feet, developers are showing some caution on where and when to deliver schemes to market.”
In contrast to the City, the West End registered an uptick in activity. Some 14 new schemes totalling 657,500 square feet have started construction, the biggest number of new starts recorded in a single crane survey for this submarket. Alongside existing activity, there is now 1.4m square feet being built across the West End - a 20 per cent rise on the last survey for the six months to May.
Construction costs are likely to rise as additional Deloitte research suggests a slower pace of workload and price rises over the coming year.
Director of capital projects advisory Michael Cracknell said:
In general, the workload sentiment for the next 12 months is expected to increase, but the level has reduced over the summer. Similar is echoed with regards to any rise in costs, contractors expect further increases albeit at a slower rate than previously witnessed.
http://www.cityam.com/276539/city-office-developments-take-pause-after-bumper-2017
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