Housing blew up the global economy in 2008 and we learned nothing

Watching The Big Short gave me deja vu – mistakes made in the US before the financial crash are being replicated in the UK housing market

Google UK staff earned average wage of £160,000 each in 2015

Former public accounts committee chair Margaret Hodge says figure shows Google UK is ‘not a back office support operation’

Why my dream of becoming a pro gamer ended in utter failure

Free-to-play games such as Hearthstone offer $100,000 grand prize but winning tournaments is not actually a good way to make a living, finds Alex Hern

A ‘major success’ would be a fair tax system, not this tiny Google deal

George Osborne was wrong to hail the Google tax settlement: the sum is minute and the company has not been obliged to change its business structure

Virgin Media asks ASA to crack down on false broadband speed claims

The ad watchdog’s current rules allow companies to advertise a headline broadband speed even if it is available to only 10% of customers

US government: make sure you get a fire extinguisher with your hoverboard

Federal safety commission investigating explosions warns self-balancing board users to ‘gear up’, keep off roads and keep fire equipment nearby

Ad watchdog cracks down on misleading broadband ads

ASA research shows four out of five consumers can’t work out total cost of broadband contract from adverts

As easy as 123456: the 25 worst passwords revealed

If your password appears on this list, you should probably change it right away

Eat, swipe and leave – the new smartphone apps for diners

A host of new apps let you pay for your meal on your phone and take the stress out of splitting bills

eDreams website is still a nightmare

As Ryanair battles it out in court, customers are paying a high price

Will 2016 mark the end of the phone number?

The creators of Facebook’s Messenger app have made several predictions for the coming year – including doing away with with the time-honoured tradition of dialling with actual numbers

What are your feminist resolutions for 2016?

Forget ambitious diets, plans to learn a language or unreachable exercise goals – start the new year with resolutions which actively challenge sexism, from buying books by female authors to volunteering at a women’s refuge