Gold and oil prices climb as Iran crisis deepens after attacks January 8, 2020 Gold and oil prices have risen after Iranian missile attacks on Iraqi military bases housing US and UK personnel caused already heightened tensions in the Middle East to flare. The precious metal surged more than two per cent to hit a seven-year high overnight, breaking through the $1,600 barrier for the first time since 2013 [...]
Central banks running low on ammunition to fight recession, Mark Carney warns January 8, 2020 Central banks may not be able to fight off a sharp economic downturn because their monetary policy arsenals are still depleted following the global financial crisis, outgoing Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has warned. “It’s generally true that there’s much less ammunition for all the major central banks than they previously had and I’m [...]
UK condemns attacks on Iraq military bases as ‘reckless and dangerous’ January 8, 2020 Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has condemned Iranian missile attacks on military bases in Iraq that hosted US-led coalition forces, including British personnel. Iran fired more than a dozen ballistic missiles at at least two military bases where coalition forces were based early on Wednesday, the US military said. Read more: Boris Johnson accused of ‘hiding’ [...]
Climate change: Barclays shareholders call on bank to stop financing fossil fuel firms January 8, 2020 A group of Barclays shareholders have taken formal action against the bank, demanding it stops financing fossil fuel companies that are not aligned with the Paris Agreement’s climate change goals. A group of 11 institutional investors managing over £130bn of assets, coupled with over 100 individual investors have launched the shareholder resolution – thought to [...]
Tech giants lobby EU not to hold them liable for illegal content January 7, 2020 The biggest tech companies have called on the EU not to hold them liable for all content on their platforms, but have accepted that their efforts to remove illegal or harmful content could be regulated by a new European watchdog. A lobby group that represents tech titans including Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon has written [...]
2019 was worst year on record for UK property funds January 7, 2020 UK property funds endured the largest and most sustained withdrawals on record in 2019, with total outflows of £2.2bn, as the industry was dented by weakening sentiment over Brexit and the fallout from the M&G real estate fund suspension. The figures, which are equivalent to £1 in every £15 under management in property funds being [...]
Neil Woodford and partner bagged £13.8m in year before empire collapsed January 7, 2020 Neil Woodford and his partner Craig Newman were paid almost £14m in dividends in the year leading up to the fund crisis that ultimately brought down their company. For the year ending 31 March 2019, Woodford Investment Management’s profit more than halved, falling from £33.7m to £16.3m, according to accounts submitted to Companies House. Read [...]
Arrest warrant for Carlos Ghosn’s wife issued in Japan January 7, 2020 Japanese prosecutors have obtained an arrest warrant for Carole Ghosn, wife of the former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, for alleged perjury. Prosecutors said in a statement on Tuesday they had obtained the warrant on suspicion Carole Ghosn had made false statements during testimony to the Tokyo district court in April. Read more: Going, going, Ghosn: [...]
Morrisons sales fall in ‘unusually challenging’ Christmas period January 7, 2020 Supermarket giant Morrisons has announced a drop in sales for the Christmas period amid “unusually challenging” trading conditions and “sustained” customer uncertainty. Group like-for-like sales excluding fuel fell 1.7 per cent for the 22 weeks to 5 January. Including fuel, the drop was 2.8 per cent. Total sales excluding fuel were down 1.3 per cent, [...]
Carr’s Group maintains expectations despite weaker agriculture performance January 7, 2020 Carr’s Group has upheld its performance expectations for the full year, with a weaker showing from its agriculture business offset by strength in its engineering division. In a trading update issued this morning, the Carlisle-based farming supplies firm said trading in its agriculture business had fallen behind expectations for the 18 weeks to 4 January. [...]
