Tax increases for the NHS are the last refuge of the unimaginative May 30, 2018 The staff at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) are the best public finance number-crunchers in the UK. But last Thursday they delivered a baffling statement, claiming there was simply “no more room” to increase health spending in future by reallocating resources from other government budgets. The implication for funding the NHS is that over [...]
Mark Carney has bigger things to worry about than meaningless Brexit forecasts May 30, 2018 The governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, is up to his usual tricks. Last week, he claimed in front of the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons that British households are now more than £900 worse off after the vote to leave the EU. The figure was obtained by comparing a forecast [...]
Italian political crisis spooks Europe as George Soros warns of existential threat to EU May 29, 2018 Billionaire investor George Soros yesterday warned that the European Union faces an “existential crisis” and must “reinvent itself” or risk triggering the next global financial meltdown as markets shuddered under the strain of Italy’s growing political turmoil. Italy may be forced to return to the polls as soon as July after Prime Minister designate Carlo [...]
UK’s former ambassador to Russia pushes for change at gold miner Petropavlovsk – but declines to identify mystery activist investors May 29, 2018 The UK’s former ambassador to Russia, Sir Roderic Lyne, has written to the chairman of embattled gold miner Petropavlovsk urging him to step down and reinstate the company’s old board. Lyne was part of the former board which was ousted by shareholders last year, after being accused of loading the company with debt and failing [...]
Yandex amps up its premium offering with new smart speaker launch and subscription service May 29, 2018 Yandex, also colloquially known as Russia’s answer to Amazon and Google, has today launched a smart speaker and a corresponding premium subscription service, alongside a range of expansions to its artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and intelligent assistant Alice. Known as Yandex.Station, the 9,990 roubles (£120) smart speaker is both Yandex’s first hardware product and the [...]
Apple reported to be adopting OLED iPhone screens with new HomePod and iOS 11.4 releases, as current provider Japan Display’s shares slump May 29, 2018 Apple has reportedly moved towards using organic light-emitting diode (OLED) screens in all three of its new iPhone models planned for 2019, while also releasing the latest version of its iOS software, 11.4, and new international market locations for its HomePod speaker. The announcement, revealed today by South Korea’s Electronic Times, has sent share prices [...]
RBS will cut lending to new oil and gas projects in order to shift focus to renewable energy May 29, 2018 The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has announced it will no longer be financing new oil and gas projects and will turn its focus towards renewable energy sources. The bank will not be funding new coal fired power stations, thermal coal mines, oil sands projects or Arctic oil projects. It will also be tightening restrictions [...]
Bank of England officials make “material step forward” in debate around central bank cryptocurrencies to rival bitcoin and ethereum May 29, 2018 Bank of England officials today said they had made a “material step forward” which could potentially address one of the major risks of central banks issuing their own digital currencies. Officials from the Bank today published a blog laying the groundwork for a central bank cryptocurrency which would not cause runs on commercial banks, in [...]
Rocket Internet moves into fintech and AI with £2.3bn cash investment up for grabs May 29, 2018 Prolific German e-commerce investor Rocket Internet will begin channelling money towards startups in fintech, vertical marketplaces and artificial intelligence, confirmed CEO Oliver Samwer after revealing its first quarter results today. Rocket currently owns majority stakes in meal kit delivery service HelloFresh and fashion house Global Fashion Group (GFG), though it recently sold eight per cent [...]
Takeda investors turn up the heat on execs with £46bn Shire takeover opposition May 29, 2018 Takeda’s £46bn takeover of London-listed Shire “carries overly high risk”, a bloc of investors in the Japanese pharma giant said today. The board Irish-headquartered Shire conditionally accepted an approach from Takeda at the fifth time of asking last month. If completed, the deal would be the largest overseas acquisition by a Japanese firm. Takeda’s pursuit [...]