Blue Chip A to Z

If you live in an older home, you may start noticing some things about your pipes and your water pressure. You might notice that your water pressure isn’t as strong as it once was. Maybe your water looks a little off color, or maybe you smell something odd around your sink every now and then. Generally, these things will all develop over time—rarely do pipes burst and flood your basement or home. However, they can all indicate that it’s time for a copper repiping. Read the rest of this entry »

Wheelchair stair lifts are generally created from a more durable material than routine stair lifts, and are not usually located directly on a staircase like most seated chair lifts. The construction technique used to install wheelchair stair lifts is also usually heavier than the more traditional stair lifts. These devices do not run parallel to the stairs like the smaller stair lifts but rather use a platform and are usually found slightly to the side of the stairs. A flat wheelchair lift can be installed directly over the staircase like the seated stair lifts, but when this is done it is very difficult for others to walk up and down the stairs unless it is an extremely wide area.

Unlike traditional lift systems, wheelchair stair lifts are open and are usually used to assist people with a disability to move from one floor to the next where there is no established lift or where there is only a metre or two between floors. The wheelchair lift generally has side panels that can sometimes fold out to act like a ramp so that the wheelchair can easily move from one area to another. It also helps to make sure that there are no gaps between the lift door and the floor that they are getting out on, which also reduces the risk of wheels getting stuck or the chair not manoeuvring as it should.

Read more about stair lifts and StairLiftsOnline.co.uk.

A teenager could be behind a surge in global carrot sales after setting up a popular Facebook page as a joke, urging people to “panic buy” the vegetable.

Supermarkets are bracing themselves after more than 230,000 people joined Freya Valentine’s group.

It urges people to “go out and buy a load of carrots” on 15 May.

Ms Valentine, of Goring, Oxfordshire, who is celebrating her 19th birthday, said the interest highlighted the power of social networking sites.

She said she had the idea in January on a night out and within weeks her group had about 60,000 members.

Full article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/oxfordshire/7402553.stm

House prices across the nation are now falling year-on-year for the first time in more than a decade, Nationwide Building Society said today.

The average price of a home in April dropped 1pc from a year earlier, and by 1.1pc compared with March. Read the rest of this entry »

E.ON, the German owner of British energy supplier Powergen, has signalled its intention to bid for a slice of the UK’s nuclear industry with a surprise announcement that it has chosen two companies that would help it design and build reactors. Read the rest of this entry »

Google has reported market-beating results for the first three months of the year, easing worries of a slowdown in online advertising.

The owner of the most popular online search engine, said first-quarter profits rose to $1.31bn, up 30% from the same period a year ago.

Google boss Eric Schmidt said “innovation in search, ads, and apps” helped to boost earnings growth.

There have been fears that the firm was being hit by the slowing US economy.

Google said sales were up 42% to $5.19bn for the quarter ended 31 March. Read the rest of this entry »

The housing boom of the last decade has priced many first-time buyers out of the property market, according to the charity Shelter.

The charity’s Roof Affordability Index found that the price of an average first-time property rose from £52,674 in 1997 to £159,494 last year.

The figures showed that buyers’ average income had become smaller compared with the price of a property.

Prices are now starting to fall, but mortgages have become harder to secure.

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7350968.stm

Oil prices are hovering close to $115 a barrel, having crossed the record mark on Thursday after a US inventory report raised concerns about supplies.

US light, sweet crude oil pulled back slightly to $114.97 in Asian trading from the previous day’s $115.21 high.

Brent crude hit an all-time peak of $112.83 before falling back slightly.

The weak dollar has helped to draw investors towards commodities, which are cheaper for foreign buyers because they are priced in the US currency.

Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7351913.stm