Venezuela’s collapse is exposing Labour’s existential crisis August 4, 2017 The plight of Venezuelans, who have been disenfranchised, starved and oppressed by their autocratic government, has finally caught international attention. President Nicolas Maduro has made a mockery of the country’s democracy, calling a sham election purely for the purpose of giving himself more power. Since that election on Sunday, two opposition leaders have been arrested [...]
London Stock Exchange chief executive Xavier Rolet backs FCA review of listing rules that could pave way for Saudi Aramco IPO August 3, 2017 London Stock Exchange boss Xavier Rolet today defended the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) review of listings rules that could pave the way for a Saudi Aramco mega-float. The Institute of Directors this week joined the Investment Association and Royal London Asset Management in speaking out against the proposals, which would ease rules for state-owned companies [...]
Netflix and Britain: We’re now a nation of 40m binge watchers, but BBC, ITV and Channel 4 beats US streaming rivals Ofcom Communications Market Report 2017 finds August 3, 2017 Britain is now a nation of binge watchers, as 40m of us watch more than one episode at a time, new research reveals. But traditional broadcasters remain more popular for satisfying that appetite than Netflix from which the watching habit sprung. More than three quarters of UK adults watch a back-to-back episode on catch-up or [...]
Jeremy Corbyn’s Venezuela silence is a cold betrayal of democracy August 3, 2017 It wasn’t difficult to see where Venezuela was headed. The most oil-rich nation in the world has been slowly spiralling towards economic collapse for the better part of a decade. The socialist ideals which inspired the regimes of President Hugo Chavez and his replacement, Nicolas Maduro, have resulted in a catastrophic but sadly foreseeable predicament. [...]
Neymar: How can Paris Saint-Germain afford the £199m Barcelona star, what about Financial Fair Play and how do buy-out clauses work? A lawyer explains August 2, 2017 How do buyout clauses such as Neymar’s work? In Spain, the buying club has to pay money to La Liga to activate the buyout clause, which is a contractual stipulation in a player’s contract. Can Barcelona or La Liga ask Uefa to block the deal? There’s nothing prohibiting Barcelona contacting Uefa but if the buy-out [...]
Kanye West sues Lloyd’s of London insurers including Lancashire for $10m over cancelled tour August 2, 2017 We ain’t saying he’s a gold digger, but US rapper Kanye West has just filed a $10m (£7.6m) lawsuit against Lloyd’s of London insurers in a dispute over 21 cancelled tour dates last year. The pop star and his tour company, Very Good Touring, claim insurers may not pay out because the cancellations were as [...]
Move over Crossrail: Watch Hyperloop One hit record 200mph in latest test of Elon Musk’s crazy transport system of the future August 2, 2017 Hyperloop, the crazy transportation of the future that wants to whizz you hundreds of miles within minutes, has just shown exactly how fast it can go. The pod and tunnel system has gone faster than ever before, hitting 192mph in fresh tests over in Nevada in the US by Hyperloop One – that’s nearly three [...]
Mondelez chief executive Irene Rosenfeld, the woman blamed for shutting down Cadbury factories in the UK, has stepped down August 2, 2017 Irene Rosenfeld, the former Kraft boss who became a figure of hate after its takeover of Cadbury’s in 2010, has stepped down from her position as chief executive of Mondelez. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission today, the company said Rosenfeld will be replaced by Dirk Van de Put, currently the [...]
Revealed: The most-traded investments in July reflect a commodities recovery August 2, 2017 Investment and trading platform Interactive Investor has revealed its top most-traded for the month of July. The rankings reflected a recovery in commodities price, the ever-present poplarity of tech stocks, and strong demand for Lloyds. Top by a mile Most traded large cap shares Lloyds AstraZeneca Glaxosmithkline BP BT Despite missing analyst expectations in its [...]
Funerals provider Dignity sees profits and revenue increase for first half but warns on “aggressive” competition August 2, 2017 Pre-tax profits rose in the six months to 30 June at funeral provider Dignity, as the number of deaths rose. The figures Revenue was up seven per cent to £169.8m in the first half. In the same period, the total number of deaths in the UK rose two per cent to 308,000. The group said [...]