National Gallery snaps up American masterpiece for £15m February 7, 2014 In a stark change of collection policy, the 200 year old National Gallery has made its first acquisition of a major American painting. The museum's previous collections had largely been restricted to works by European artists from the renaissance to 1900. Men of the Docks, by American realist painter George Bellows, will now grace the [...]
Teachers unions go head to head with Gove as strike set for 26 March February 7, 2014 Teachers in England and Wales are set to strike on 26 March in a dispute over pay, pensions and conditions. Teachers' unions are indignant at the introduction of performance-related pay and a more restrained pension package. Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) have accused the education secretary, Michael Gove, of "persistently refusing" to [...]
This mystery Guardian advert is the best thing to happen to dogecoin February 7, 2014 An unexplained advert in today's Guardian financial pages has got Twitter into a stir. The newspaper has given a quarter page to the doge meme, a joke that has gained huge popularity in recent months since its inception in 2010. Featuring a shiba inu and some nonsensical phrases "pls red," "much 4mal", "so print", and [...]
Former Goldman and UBS director takes FCA role February 7, 2014 The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has announced this morning that it’s appointed former Goldman Sachs and UBS managing director James Kelly as an adviser. Kelly will join the wholesale banking and investment management division with Supervision, working part-time. The City watchdog says he’ll advise the team on supervisory strategy, using his wide knowledge of the [...]
Here’s why oil and gas won’t be the casualty that follows mining February 7, 2014 Despite mounting investor concern that the oil and gas sector could be “the new mining”, Berenberg doesn’t harbour such concerns. Depressed emerging markets, particularly the slowdown in China, slumped gold prices and worry over Fed tapering plans has meant an embattled time for miners. And while some of the world’s biggest oil companies have recently [...]
Manufacturing and industrial production miss estimates February 7, 2014 A dent to the UK picture this morning. Industrial production grew by just 0.4 per cent in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, and manufacturing by 0.3 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics. Analysts had been expecting growth of 0.6 per cent across both. This month's release should see a small knock [...]
German court says ECB’s bond-buying programme could violate mandate February 7, 2014 Germany’s Constitutional Court has made the decision to refer a complaint against the European Central Bank’s flagship bond-buying programme – Outright Monetary Transactions (OMT) – to the European Court. Germany will rule on whether OMTs violate the European Central Bank’s (ECB) mandate on 18 March. The move could cast doubt over the credibility of the [...]
ArcelorMittal shares jump on profit boom February 7, 2014 Steelmaker ArcelorMittal has seen its shares rise by over three per cent in early trading after the firm reported a jump in fourth quarter profits. Company profits leapt 23 per cent in the fourth quarter, with earnings in 2014 expected to outstrip the previous year. The world's largest steelmaker, which accounts for between six and [...]
Google puts pressure on Sochi games with anti-discrimination logo February 7, 2014 Search giant Google has joined the ranks of those hitting out at Russia's dire record on civil liberties. Russian rules against "gay propaganda" have been widely critiscised for promoting hatred against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups. Google's move to change its homepage logo follows comments from US Olympic team sponsor AT&T, who made clear [...]
West End popularity sees developer Shaftesbury close to fully let February 7, 2014 London’s whirring West End continues to benefit property business Shaftesbury. The FTSE 250 firm, which invests in the area exclusively, has said this morning that its portfolio is “substantially fully let” with domestic and international visitors continuing to flock to the area. Despite adverse weather over Christmas, people have kept up spending in Shaftesbury’s restaurants’ [...]