Newmont’s Goldberg and Barrick’s Bristow had ‘constructive’ meeting March 6, 2019 The chief executives of gold miners Barrick and Newmont, who are locked in a battle over a hostile takeover bid, had a “constructive” dinner on Tuesday. Incoming Newmont chief executive Tom Palmer said his predecessor Gary Goldberg and Barrick chief Mark Bristow laid the foundations for a deal over their assets in Nevada. Read more: [...]
OECD slashes global growth forecasts and warns of no-deal Brexit recession March 6, 2019 Global growth predictions were slashed today as a major economic body warned that a no-deal Brexit would see Britain return to recession. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) cut predictions for the UK’s growth to 0.8 per cent in 2019 and 0.9 per cent in 2020. Read more: EU faces the biggest risks [...]
Eurozone construction sectors boosted in February by German and French recovery March 6, 2019 Construction firms in the Eurozone were boosted last month by an upturn in building activity following a slow start to the year. German firms led the way with a sharp rise in activity, while there was also a return to expansion in France, according to the widely-regarded IHS Markit purchasing managers’ index (PMI). Read more: [...]
Like the myth that the Earth is flat, the socialist conspiracy theory never dies March 6, 2019 The idea that the Earth is flat is a rapidly growing trend on social media. The Flat Earth Society’s Twitter feed has the best part of 100,000 followers. The fact that the planet is a sphere has been known since at least the time of the ancient Greeks. The astronomer Eratosthenes demonstrated it with a simple [...]
Vale fired inspector who refused to certify deadly dam just months before it collapsed, prosecutors allege March 5, 2019 Brazil’s Vale fired an inspector which failed its Brumadinho dam over safety concerns just months before the dam collapsed, likely killing hundreds, prosecutors have alleged. Over 300 people are dead or missing after the dam broke in the state of Minas Gerais earlier this year, unleashing a wave of mining waste. Read more: Brazil to decommission [...]
Brazil overtakes Russia as biggest exporter to small Chinese refineries as trade war slashes US imports March 5, 2019 Brazil overtook Russia as the biggest supplier of crude oil to China’s independent refineries last month, as the trade war with the US transformed global oil supply lines. Crude shipments from the South American country hit 2.17 million tonnes in February, overtaking Russia, however they were down 5.4 per cent from January, data from S&P [...]
Diamond sales fall at De Beers after unusually strong end to 2018, company reveals March 5, 2019 Rough diamond sales at De Beers fell marginally in the second cycle of the year, the company said today. The Anglo American-owned diamond miner and seller showed sales value down two per cent to $500m from the first cycle of the year. Read more: Diamonds aren’t forever: Sales drop off at De Beers Meanwhile, sales [...]
Buckle your seatbelts for the next global recession – the world is not prepared March 5, 2019 A decade on from the global financial crisis, the world economy is not in good health. Britain is paralysed by Brexit uncertainty, the Eurozone – including its seemingly invincible German powerhouse – is stuttering, and China is experiencing its slowest economic growth since 1990. Read more: Eurozone economic confidence falls to fresh two-year low Even [...]
UK services sector set for weakest quarter since 2012 amid Brexit uncertainty March 5, 2019 The UK services sector look set for its weakest quarter since 2012 as a subdued start to the year continued last month. Business activity expanded marginally in February but new work fell for a second consecutive month, according to the widely-regarded IHS Markit / CIPS purchasing managers’ index (PMI). Employment numbers also declined at the [...]
Pay politicians £500,000 each per year and maybe we’d get better quality MPs March 5, 2019 Few people are as hawkish on government spending as me. However, there is one area where taxpayers should be willing to spend much, much more: the salaries of our members of parliament. Last week, the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority announced that MPs’ basic pay was to increase by 2.7 per cent to £79,468 from 1 April. [...]