France HIA use during Ireland defeat to be investigated by Six Nations authorities February 4, 2018 Six Nations organisers are reviewing two controversial uses of the head injury assessment (HIA) system during France’s Six Nations defeat to Ireland on Saturday. Fly-half Matthieu Jalibert and scrum-half Antoine Dupont both appeared to limp off with leg injuries but the pair were registered as requiring a HIA. In Dupont’s case it meant France were [...]
Sam Simmonds earns praise from Eddie Jones after starring in England’s 46-15 romp over Italy February 4, 2018 England head coach Eddie Jones praised the impact of Sam Simmonds after the No8’s two tries helped the defending champions to a commanding win over Italy in their Six Nations curtain-raiser. The Exeter back-row, making his tournament debut, notched a second-half double as England swaggered to a seven-try victory in Rome. Two tries from Anthony [...]
UK weather: Forecasters warn of coldest week of winter with snow, ice and freezing temperatures in London – Met Office February 4, 2018 Forecasters are warning to brace for the coldest week of the year with snow, ice and freezing temperatures expected late on Sunday and Monday morning. A yellow warning for ice and snow has been issued by the Met Office for the south east, including parts of London, with potential to cause delays on the roads [...]
Amber Rudd slams Jacob Rees-Mogg claims of “fiddling” Brexit figures February 4, 2018 Amber Rudd has hit back at fellow Tory Jacob Rees-Mogg and his claims that the Treasury “fiddled figures” relating to the potential economic impact of Brexit. The home secretary said the claims were “wrong” and a “surprise”. “I’m very surprised at Jacob, because he is famously courteous, famously thoughtful, articulate. So I’m very surprised that [...]
Bitcoin bubble? Price (BTC) of cryptocurrency falls back below $9,000 February 4, 2018 Bitcoin is back below $9,000 after recovering from a major sell off on Friday which had sent the cryptocurrency plunging lower than $8,000. It was trading at around $8,500 on Sunday, down seven per cent from Saturday when it had started to stabilise from a major downturn that wiped billions from its value late last [...]
Business “hugely frustrated” by government delay on Brexit immigration paper says CBI February 3, 2018 The government must provide clarity over its future immigration policy, according to an influential business lobby group, after reports it may delay publication of a key policy paper on the issue. The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said firms will be “frustrated” if the government does not give an indication of what the future policy [...]
Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg accuses Treasury of “fiddling the figures” on Brexit forecasts February 3, 2018 Prominent Tory Eurosceptic Jacob Rees-Mogg today reignited a row over economic forecasts of the impacts of Brexit, accusing the Treasury of “fiddling the figures” in its analysis. Rees-Mogg, who leads the pro-Brexit European Research Group of Conservative MPs, refused to apologise for accusing civil servants of trying to undermine the Brexit process. He said the [...]
Bitcoin credit card bans introduced by JP Morgan, Bank of America and Citigroup February 3, 2018 US banks are queueing up to stop customers from buying bitcoin using credit cards, as wild price swings continue on the biggest cryptocurrency. JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America both last night said they will ban the practice, according to CNBC, which could leave customers chasing the big price rises which bitcoin has seen [...]
US stocks slide to biggest loss under Trump presidency on Federal Reserve inflation fears February 3, 2018 US stock markets ended the week last night with the biggest single-day loss of the Trump era, as investors adjusted their interest rate expectations following labour market data which showed signs of an increase in inflation. The benchmark S&P 500 lost 2.12 per cent over the day, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 2.54 [...]
Markets wrap: FTSE 100 falls as bond yields jump, sterling falls agains the US dollar (GBPUSD) and bitcoin (BTC) swings February 2, 2018 The FTSE 100 today fell to its worst weekly performance since the summer in spite of the weaker pound – usually a boon to big multinationals with big dollar earnings. London’s blue-chip index lost more than 0.6 per cent to reach 7,443.43 points, its lowest close since 14 December to cap a week in which [...]