South African gold miner strikes to begin on Tuesday August 30, 2013 Workers in South Africa’s gold mines are planning to begin a strike over pay on 3 September, the Chamber of Mines has said. Last week, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) – which represents 64 per cent of all underground workers in the country – gave gold producers a seven-day ultimatum to meet its demand [...]
Hollande: France could launch military strike on Syria next week August 30, 2013 French president Francois Hollande has said the French position on Syria remains unchanged despite refusal by British MPs to initiate military action, and that the country could launch a strike as early as Wednesday. In an interview with Le Monde published this morning, Hollande said: The chemical massacre of Damascus cannot and must not go [...]
Eurozone unemployment unchanged in July August 30, 2013 The unemployment rate in the Eurozone held steady in July, according to official figures. This morning, Eurostat reported that unemployment was flat on the month before at 12.1 per cent. Across the 28 EU member states, the unemployment rate was 11.0 per cent, also stable compared with June. In both zones, rates have risen compared [...]
Cyprus president “certain” country can return to markets before end of bailout programme August 30, 2013 Cypriot president Nikos Anastasiades has said Cyprus will return to the financial markets before the end of its bailout programme in 2016. Speaking to German newspaper Handelsblatt, Anastasiades said he hopes to see the first signs of a turnaround in the second half of 2014, and was “certain” Cyprus could return to the markets before [...]
Italian unemployment falls unexpectedly August 30, 2013 Italian unemployment fell unexpectedly in July, according to official figures. Istat reported this morning that unemployment fell to 12.0 per cent in July from 12.1 per cent the month before. Analysts had expected to see an increase to 12.2 per cent. Year-on-year, however, unemployment was up from 11.8 per cent. In absolute values, unemployment fell [...]
Nomura: Intervention in Syria will have little to no effect on global oil supply August 29, 2013 A senior analyst at Nomura has said that a US-led military strike on Syria will have little to no disruption effect on global oil supply. Alastair Newton, senior political analyst at Nomura, said: We cannot emphasize too strongly that, whatever option may be adopted we see little or no direct threat to global oil supply [...]
EU may expand capital rules to shadow banking sector August 29, 2013 The European Commission is considering applying its banking capital rules to “shadow banking” institutions, according to a draft EU document reportedly seen by Reuters. Shadow banks are non-bank financial intermediaries like hedge funds and structured investment vehicles that provide credit to the financial sector. The shadow banking industry handles around $60 trillion of transactions every [...]
Cameron outlines national interest case in Syria intervention August 29, 2013 Speaking to MPs in the House of Commons today, prime minister David Cameron said that intervention in Syria could help facilitate a long-term political solution in the country and a more stable Middle East. Asked what the national interest would be for an intervention, Cameron said that, as long as Syrian president Bashar al-Assad is [...]
Cameron says UN disagreement should not hamper the UK from taking action in Syria August 29, 2013 UK prime minister David Cameron has told MPs that it would be "unthinkable" to proceed with intervention in Syria if the UN Security Council was overwhelmingly opposed to it. Any resolution at the 15-strong Security Council can be vetoed by any of the five permanent members – the UK, the US, France, Russia and China. [...]
Cameron: Syria is “fundamentally different” to Iraq August 29, 2013 UK prime minister David Cameron has said that intervention in Syria would be "fundamentally different" to Iraq in 2003. First off, intervention would not be about regime change or even working more closely with the opposition. It would be a "response to war crime, nothing else". He added that the fact that the Syrian regime [...]