The FTSE 100 closed at a record high topping 7,600 December 21, 2017 There was plenty of Christmas cheer in the City today as Britain’s blue-chip index rose to an all-time high. The FTSE 100 rose above 7,600 points for the first time, closing up 1.1 per cent at 7,603.98. “The FTSE 100 has rallied strongly today moving above its previous record peak set back in June to [...]
High Court grants $2.5bn freezing order against Ukraine oligarchs Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov December 21, 2017 A High Court judge has granted an order to freeze $2.5bn (£1.9bn) of worldwide assets of the former owners of Ukrainian state-owned lender PrivatBank. PrivatBank, which was previously owned by oligarchs Igor Kolomoisky and Gennady Bogolyubov, has claimed the two took almost $2bn from the bank through a series of “dishonest transactions”. The freezing order [...]
UK government public sector net borrowing falls to lowest November total in a decade, says the Office for National Statistics December 21, 2017 While consumers may be racking up the debt as Christmas creeps closer, chancellor Philip Hammond has managed to keep a lid on the UK’s public sector borrowing. Statistics released today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed public sector net borrowing fell by £200m to £8.7bn in November 2017 – the lowest November total [...]
Facebook is ditching “disputed” fake news flags. Here’s why December 21, 2017 Facebook has decided to ditch one of its most public efforts to tackle the issue of fake news just a year after it first launched. The tech company admitted that a feature that flags that the veracity of an article is disputed by a group of fact checkers “buried critical information” and “could sometimes backfire” [...]
iPhone slow? Apple’s doing it on purpose to older devices, tech company admits December 21, 2017 Feel like once there’s a shiny new Apple iPhone out, yours starts working less well? You’re not alone, and though it has often been debunked that there is any change to the battery life when a newer model hits the market, Apple does actively influence the performance of your old phone in another way, it [...]
City A.M.’s Devilishly Difficult 2017 Sports Quiz Part 2: The odd and business stories from the sporting year December 21, 2017 It has been another vintage year of sporting drama, from the triumphs of Anthony Joshua and Lewis Hamilton to the disappointments of England’s failed Ashes defence and Usain Bolt’s anticlimactic farewell. But as the dust settles on 2017, how much have you remembered about those defining moments, or the storylines playing out off the field, [...]
Lance Armstrong: I’ve made Chris Froome “adverse” drugs test fallout worse December 21, 2017 Disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong believes his misdeeds have contributed to an overreaction to Chris Froome’s recent adverse drugs test. Last week the world cycling body the UCI confirmed that double the allowed level of a legal asthma drug had been found in a test of four-time Tour de France winner Froome after a stage [...]
City A.M.’s Devilishly Difficult 2017 Sports Quiz Part 1: The good and the bad of the sporting year December 21, 2017 It has been another vintage year of sporting drama, from the triumphs of Anthony Joshua and Lewis Hamilton to the disappointments of England’s failed Ashes defence and Usain Bolt’s anticlimactic farewell. But as the dust settles on 2017, how much have you remembered about those defining moments, or the storylines playing out off the field, [...]
Londoners’ council tax is rising as Sadiq Khan pushes up funding for police and fire brigade December 21, 2017 Londoners are facing increased council tax bills after Sadiq Khan said he had “no choice” but to raise rates after government cuts. Khan said he planned to increase his share of council tax by 27p a week, the maximum allowed by the government, from April next year. That will mean a 5.1 per cent rise, [...]
“Shun bitcoin” amid price bubble and “bite at blockchain” says UBS December 21, 2017 Bitcoin is a bubble and should be shunned, according to a top wealth manager, but you should be “biting at blockchain” – the technology which underpins the cryptocurrency – predicting it to be an industry worth billions in the next decade. “We do not see Bitcoin as a viable investment and instead see opportunities in [...]