Singapore becomes latest jurisdiction to clamp down on Bitcoin March 13, 2014 Singapore is set to regulate Bitcoin exchanges to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in a statement that exchanges will have to identify their customers and report suspicious transactions to the relevant authorities. The MAS said in a statement: Regulation of virtual currency intermediaries pertains specifically to the [...]
Most public sector workers to get 1pc pay rise March 13, 2014 Most public sector workers will get a pay rise of one per cent next year, the government’s confirmed. Ministers have said the 600,000 NHS employees who get automatic “progressional pay” increases, which are “typically worth over three per cent”, won’t get the additional one per cent rise. Around 400 senior NHS managers also won’t get [...]
Boiler room probe sees 21-year-old arrested March 13, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has said this morning that a 21-year-old individual has been arrested and interviewed in connection with an investigation into boiler room activity. The FCA’s working with the assistance of the National Crime agency and Kent police, who executed search warrants in London and Kent yesterday morning. The arrest was made [...]
What this UN boss gets wrong on drug prohibition March 13, 2014 As representaives from countries around the world prepare to meet in Vienna to discuss how to tackle the $320bn (£192bn) drug trade, the executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has defended the current system of drug control. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, Yury Fedotov said: I would not say [...]
Netflix subs added to inflation basket March 13, 2014 The UK's official statisticians have elected to add "video streaming services" to a basket of goods used to measure inflation. Now items like Netflix and Amazon Instant Video will be included in the consumer price inflation measure, a decision taken as part of the annual review of the CPI basket of goods and services. The [...]
Merkel: Russia’s is “the law of the jungle” March 13, 2014 Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel has accused Russia of invoking “the law of the jungle” in the Crimea crisis, warning that EU leaders are poised to take further action. If Russia continues on its current path, it’ll be a catastrophe not just for Ukraine and the EU, but for Russia as well, she said. In a [...]
Supermarkets are getting crushed March 13, 2014 Morrisons has plummeted into the red, announcing a £176m pre-tax profit loss, having made a £897m profit a year earlier. The supermarket’s planning a £1bn property selloff over the next three years, in a bid to ameliorate the situation. It’s issued a dire profit warning, too, which has been described this morning on the BBC [...]
Morrisons shares slump 10pc after £176m loss March 13, 2014 Supermarket chain William Morrison has seen its shares drop by 10 per cent after reporting a pre tax loss of £176m for the year ended 2 February. Like-for-like sales were also down 2.8 per cent while turnover fell two per cent. The primary reasons for the losses were the £903m write-down relating to the value [...]
Home Retail shares jump in wake of higher profit expectations March 13, 2014 Home Retail has seen its shares rise by 6.5 per cent after the company reported higher sales and increased profit expectations. Home Retail reported an increase in like-for-like sales at Argos of 5.2 per cent to £526m for the eight-week trading period for the financial year ended 1 March 2014. The group reported an increase [...]
Shell slashing Americas upstream spending by 20pc March 13, 2014 Ben van Beurden, the new chief executive of Shell, has said this morning that the challenged oil giant needs to “get a tighter grip on performance management”. As such, the firm’s announced it’s cutting spending on exploration and production in the Americas by a fifth, with profitability hit by losses in plays such as shale. [...]