Are tougher sanctions the best way to tackle Putin’s Russia? July 21, 2014 Timothy Ash, head of emerging market research (ex Africa) at Standard Bank, says Yes. Sanctions have already had an effect, by preventing a broader Russian incursion into Ukraine. Russia did not expect them, and the measures made it bide time to assess their impact. Crucially, this gave the new Ukrainian government time to regroup, and [...]
Dave Lewis: Tesco share prices jumps as investors bet on new CEO’s strong Unilever record July 21, 2014 Investors have been reassured by the appointment of Dave Lewis as Tesco's new top dog. Despite a profit warning, Tesco's shares sprang up by as much as three per cent as markets opened. Part of that can be explained by the coming departure of CEO Philip Clarke. While he will continue to serve in his [...]
Fresh sanctions expected as West blames Putin’s Russia for MH17 crash July 21, 2014 Western governments yesterday warned that a more severe round of sanctions could be imposed against the Russian government, with heads of state increasingly blaming Moscow for supplying the missile which brought down a Malaysian airlines jet last week. Foreign secretary Philip Hammond, who has held the post for less than a week, said yesterday that [...]
There will be more Putins – and more Flight MH17s – if Europe fails to act now July 21, 2014 “Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain” – The Wizard in L Frank Baum’s The Wizard of Oz In her able, forthright way, Hillary Clinton has just painfully called Europe’s bluff. Speaking just after the horrific details of the Malaysian plane disaster became clear – where it looks increasingly likely that murderously clueless [...]
Scottish independence: Commission declines to comment on reports Juncker “sympathetic” to Scotland joining EU July 20, 2014 The European Commission has declined to comment on reports that its new president Jean-Claude Juncker would be "sympathetic" to an independent Scotland joining the European Union. An article in Scotland on Sunday published today included comments from an unnamed "high-ranking EU official", who was quoted as saying that former Luxembourg Prime Minister Juncker "would not want [...]
Have Cameron and Juncker buried the hatchet? Not if this high five fail is anything to go by July 17, 2014 They tried to put their differences behind them – David Cameron insisted they could work together after saying rather uncomplementary things about him. But the photo doing the rounds of new European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and the Prime Minister failing spectacularly at a high five this morning seems to suggest otherwise. The awkward encounter [...]
ECB will give Eurozone banks just two weeks to devise plan to get their houses in order July 17, 2014 The European Central Bank (ECB) will give Eurozone lenders just two weeks to come up with plans to deal with any capital shortfalls after it completes a review of the currency union's most important banks this autumn. In an update of its plans as it prepares to conduct stress tests of the Eurozone's 128 largest [...]
Fed chair Janet Yellen defends low interest rates amid concern over frothy prices July 16, 2014 Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen held the line during a grilling from US politicians yesterday, arguing that the economic climate meant that very low interest rates were still appropriate. “If the Fed [and Yellen] is going make a change in rhetoric, it is likelier to come at the September meeting, because that is the next [...]
MEPs elect Jean-Claude Juncker head of European Commission July 16, 2014 Jean-Claude Juncker has been officially elected as the new European Commission president by members of the European parliament. The vote to elect Juncker, whom UK Prime Minister David Cameron has publicly opposed, took place in Brussels yesterday where he won 422 of the 729 ballots cast. There were just 250 votes against him and 47 [...]
Mike Ashley waives Sports Direct bonus July 16, 2014 Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley will not take up his bonus despite the controversial scheme gaining approval from shareholders. The retailer announced Ashley will not take up the share-based bonus in 2015 ahead of its financial results, due out tomorrow, and would not approach shareholders about any bonus until 2019. The collective £200m bonus, approved [...]