Trump’s odds of winning a Nobel Peace Prize just shot up October 23, 2018 Donald Trump is now the bookie's favourite to win the Nobel Peace Prize this year, after the President accepted an invitation to meet Kim Jong Un. Ladbrokes has set 2/1 odds on Trump scooping the prize, which was last year awarded to a group which campaigned to abolish nuclear weapons. Previous winners include Trump's predecessor [...]
Craft beer brand Brewdog is trying to mature after a tough year of marketing disasters October 22, 2018 It’s been a tough year for Brewdog, much of it the brand’s own fault. Tone-deaf advertising campaigns and PR mishaps have frustrated its fans and “equity punk” investors (I speak from personal experience – I’ve been a shareholder since 2015). The Scottish craft beer brewer, founded in 2007, is as well known for its marketing stunts as [...]
World leaders push back against Saudi account of journalist’s death October 21, 2018 The backlash against Saudi Arabia over the death of Jamal Khashoggi stepped up again yesterday, with world leaders uniting to condemn the Gulf kingdom’s claims that the journalist and critic died in a “fist fight” at its consulate in Istanbul. German chancellor Angela Merkel described Khashoggi’s killing as “horrific”, saying events “still haven’t been cleared [...]
Saudi Arabia admits missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its consulate October 20, 2018 Saudi Arabia admitted yesterday that missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi was killed at its Istanbul consulate, but claims he died in a fight. The admission follows two weeks of denials from Saudi Arabia that it was involved in the dissident journalist’s disappearance, despite CCTV footage showing Khashoggi entering the embassy and claims from Turkish authorities that they had [...]
There’s nothing to fear from the latest easing back of Dodd-Frank’s reach October 17, 2018 Shortly after his inauguration as President, Donald Trump pledged to do “a big number” on Dodd-Frank regulations, labelling the post-crisis measures “a disaster” and promising to “kill” parts of the legislation. While the rhetoric was typically Trumpian, the reality has proven to be somewhat more modest. Nonetheless, a change in the White House's direction of [...]
Barbie on a bull run: Resurgent sales in the All-American figurine have proved a saving grace for toy making giant Mattel October 16, 2018 When it happened three years ago, it may have passed you by: after all, Donald Trump had just announced he was running for President, and the EU referendum campaign was getting under way. So you’d be forgiven for not noticing, in 2015, that Barbie dolls had just been given adjustable ankles. And yet the fact [...]
Theresa May’s new merger powers would be a hostile takeover by the state October 16, 2018 Back in July 2016, Theresa May launched her campaign for leadership of the Conservative party by promising radical action on foreign takeovers of British businesses. In the wake of Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury and Pfizer’s failed bid for AstraZeneca, May promised to defend workers and local communities from transient shareholders who, she said, were more [...]
Finance chiefs desert Saudi business summit as backlash to missing journalist intensifies October 16, 2018 The global boycott of a high-profile Saudi investor conference gathered pace yesterday as the bosses of JP Morgan, Ford, Blackstone and BlackRock led an executive exodus following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The US resident and critic of the Saudi government has not been seen since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. [...]
British support for the House of Saud cannot be unconditional October 15, 2018 When Theresa May welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Downing Street earlier this year, an official statement declared that the two countries would work together to promote “universal human rights.” At the time, this form of words jarred with the reality of life in the oil rich kingdom. Today, in the aftermath [...]
Turkish court ends US pastor’s house arrest, allowing him to leave country October 12, 2018 A Turkish court has allowed US pastor Andrew Brunson to be freed from house arrest and leave the country, putting an end to two-year long case which saw the US impose heavy sanctions on Turkey. Brunson was freed from house arrest in Izmir, Turkey this afternoon, and is now able to leave the country immediately. A Turkish prosecutor had called [...]