Pro-Brexit group Leave.EU fined £70,000 for electoral law breaches May 11, 2018 Pro-Brexit campaign group Leave.EU has been fined £70,000 by the Electoral Commission for breaching the law during the EU referendum campaign. The group, which was backed by insurance millionaire Arron Banks and former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, was fined after an investigation into its funding and spending during the EU referendum. The investigation concluded that [...]
Zoopla’s parent group ZPG looks set to be taken over by US private equity firm Silver Lake for £2.2bn | City A.M. May 11, 2018 Zoopla’s parent group ZPG, which also owns businesses such as uSwitch and PrimeLocation, has recommended shareholders accept a £2.2bn takeover offer from US private equity firm Silver Lake. ZPG announced this morning that it had agreed the terms of a 490p per share cash offer, a premium of 31 per cent to the company’s share [...]
Editor’s Notes: Delusional EU chiefs need to wake up and see the warning lights May 11, 2018 Some institutions are so intransigent, so inflexible and so bloody-minded that their inability to change, even when faced with immense pressure, elicits a grudging respect. So it is with the European Union. As things stand, the EU is facing enormous challenges: the UK is leaving and will, over time, deprive the project of vital funds. [...]
Economists aren’t overreacting, Trump’s China trade war is a terrifying prospect May 11, 2018 The Brexit vote hasn’t led to economic armageddon that some predicted, as Paul Ormerod rightly pointed out on Wednesday. So are economists now overreacting to America’s potential trade war with China? And could such a trade war actually reduce inequality, as he hinted? The answers are no, and no. If the US-China trade dispute escalates, [...]
Whatever the weather, Next sticks to its guns May 11, 2018 Predicting the weather is notoriously fraught with difficulty, but predicting that retailers will blame the weather for bad performance is a sure thing. Whether it’s too rainy, too snowy or even too sunny, high street operators are renowned for finding a way to pin their poor performance on something other than their own actions. The [...]
Scottish government accused of ‘Alice in Wonderland’ politics after court hears fracking ban doesn’t actually exist May 11, 2018 Nicola Sturgeon was last night accused of “misleading” the people of Scotland and engaging in “Alice-in-Wonderland” politics after it emerged in court that the Scottish government has not banned fracking, despite claiming to have done so. Petrochemical giant Ineos and Reach took Scottish ministers to court this week for a judicial review in a bid [...]
Ollie Phillips: Eddie Jones’s summer picks for South Africa tour scream creativity and pace May 10, 2018 Looking at the names listed in the squad to tour South Africa this summer, Eddie Jones has set his stall out and England are going to try and run the Springboks off the park; there is so much pace, creativity and footballing ability in that backline. I love some of Jones’s choices. Danny Cipriani has [...]
When Donald met Kim: US and North Korean leaders to meet in June May 10, 2018 US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are to meet next month, in a hugely significant move forward in the peace process between the two countries. The two men will meet each other in Singapore on 12 June. Singapore was favoured by US officials because of its neutrality and infrastructure. In [...]
De Beers launches blockchain tracking system Tracr for diamonds to avoid conflict zone gems May 10, 2018 Diamond mining company De Beers has started tracking diamonds on the journey from the mine to the retailer using blockchain in an effort to avoid imposters and conflict minerals. De Beers, which is the world’s biggest producer of diamonds, has developed the blockchain software called Tracr in cooperation with five other diamond manufacturers in an [...]
RSA INS share price up despite ‘Beast from the East’ effect May 10, 2018 Insurer RSA said it suffered greater-than-expected weather losses in the first quarter due to harsh conditions in key markets such as the UK and Canada, but the market was undaunted with shares up by nearly three per cent this afternoon. The figures In its first quarter results announcement this morning RSA said that gross written [...]