Bank of Cyprus announces cancellation of government guarantees as next step on road to recovery August 17, 2016 Cyprus' largest bank took a significant step towards its goal of repaying all its emergency lending by the end of 2017. The Bank of Cyprus – one of the two major commercial banks in the country – cancelled €1bn of government guarantees issued on its behalf as part of a EU funded bail-out. "The Cypriot financial [...]
Three at 3: The three stories you need to read right now August 17, 2016 We’re officially halfway through the working week – to celebrate, we’ve put together the top three stories of the day in bite-size form, just to make your life that bit easier. Time for a coffee break? Check out our three at three. Corbyn has some explaining to do After revealing his plans to re-nationalise and [...]
Brexit campaigners have infuriated Britain’s Olympians, and now they’re being threatened with a lawsuit August 17, 2016 The British Olympics Association has issued a legal threat to Brexit campaign group Leave.EU over use of Team GB trademarks. In a letter to the Brexit campaign founded by Ukip donor Arron Banks, a Team GB lawyer said that Leave.EU had made "extensive" use of its trademarks, including Team GB imagery, in social media posts on [...]
The BBC has a new forecaster after it ended its long-term relationship with Met Office August 17, 2016 The BBC has appointed a new weather forecaster after ditching the Met Office. MeteoGroup will take the reins next spring, after the Met Office confirmed its more than 90-year-old relationship with the BBC was ending last summer. Read more: BBC not happy – MPs want to know which of its stars earn more than the PM "MeteoGroup is [...]
Donald Trump hires Breitbart News exec for top campaign position August 17, 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has shaken up his campaign team by appointing Breitbart News' executive chairman as his campaign's chief exec. Stephen Bannon's appointment comes at a time when Trump trails rival Hillary Clinton substantially in the polls in some key battleground states and after a number of controversies. Breitbart, a right-wing website, has been favourable of Trump in [...]
Deutsche Bank head of retail calls for executive bonuses to be waived for second year running if results stay poor August 17, 2016 One of Deutsche Bank's key management members has urged that the executive team's bonuses be waived if the German lender continues to perform poorly. Retail bank head Christian Sewing has suggested the bank must place its investors concerns first, even if it means the upper-most management forgoing an annual sweetener for the second year running. [...]
Robert De Niro gets green light for boutique hotel The Wellington in Covent Garden August 17, 2016 Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro has been given the green light to open a boutique hotel in the heart of Covent Garden. De Niro has been working with Capital & Counties Properties and BD Hotels on the project for the luxury 83-room hotel, which will be called The Wellington. Westminster city council granted planning permission today, after [...]
Solvency ratio concerns weigh on Admiral as its share price dives August 17, 2016 Insurance giant Admiral led today's FTSE 100 laggards as it slid eight per cent after revealing a solvency ratio decline within its half-year results announcement that wasn't to everyone's tastes. The figures Group profits were up to £193m from £186m on turnover that jumped nearly 20 per cent from £1.06bn to £1.26bn. UK operations profit before tax increased slightly from [...]
US cloud firm snaps up UK startup for European expansion August 17, 2016 US cloud computing company Datapipe has snapped up a UK startup to kickstart its expansion into Europe. It has acquired Adapt, a five-year-old startup majority owned by private equity investor Lyceum Capital and which manages cloud computing services for companies such as Made.com and the National Trust for an undisclosed sum. The firm has not been put [...]
Japanese officials hit the brakes on yen rally August 17, 2016 The Japanese yen has eased back today after a top government official threatened direct intervention if the currency continued to strengthen. The yen broke below ¥100 against the US dollar yesterday as investors continued to flock to the currency, seen as a safe haven because of Japan's low inflation. The dramatic rally over the last [...]