Here’s what MPs will be debating in the House of Commons today August 29, 2013 The UK parliament is about to start its debate on Syria. Here is the motion for today: The Prime Minister The Deputy Prime Minister Secretary William Hague Secretary Theresa May Secretary Philip Hammond Mr Dominic Grieve This House: Deplores the use of chemical weapons in Syria on 21 August 2013 by the Assad regime, which [...]
UK government says it is legally justified to take unilateral action against Syria without UN backing August 29, 2013 The UK government has said that unilateral attacks on specific Syrian targets would be “legally justifiable” without the backing of the United Nations (release). The UK government is currently seeking a resulution of the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the Charter of the UN, which would condemn the use of chemical weapons by [...]
German inflation misses estimates August 29, 2013 German inflation rose by more/less than expected in August, according to data from the Statistiches Bundesamt Deutschland. The consumer price index (CPI) rose by 1.5 per cent in the year to August, following a 1.9 per cent annual increase the month before. Analysts had expected to see a rise of 1.7 per cent. On a [...]
Greek teaching union plans legal action against troika-induced austerity measures August 29, 2013 Greek teaching union OLME has said it is planning to take legal action against the government’s plan to put thousands of teachers into a mobility scheme in which they would be given reduced pay ahead of being transferred to another post or dismissal. Implementing the mobility scheme is one of the key conditions for Greece [...]
European Central Bank plans to double number of women in management positions by 2019 August 29, 2013 The European Central Bank wants to double the number of women holding management positions by 2019, executive board member Jorg Asmussen has told German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung. At present, women hold 17 per cent of middle management roles and 14 per cent of upper management positions – the ECB wants to double this to a [...]
Greek finance minister: It is “premature” to speculate about a third bailout August 29, 2013 Greek finance minister Yannis Stournaras has said it is “premature” to speculate about the necessity or details of a third bailout for Greece, echoing comments made earlier by EU commissioner Olli Rehn. Speaking to the Guardian, Stournaras said: It's very early now to talk about an economic support package. For the next full year we [...]
Indian trade minister suggests monetising gold to offset current account deficit August 29, 2013 Indian minister for commerce and industry Anand Sharma has said the country’s central bank should look into the possibility of monetising its gold to counter the huge current account deficit hitting the rupee hard. It’s not clear whether he was referring to the 557.7 tonnes of gold held in the Reserve Bank of India, or [...]
Vodafone confirms talks with Verizon on multibillion pound sale August 29, 2013 Shares in British telecoms company Vodafone jumped to a 12-year high in trading this morning after it confirmed speculation it was in discussions to sell off its stake in Verizon Wireless for more than $100bn (£64bn). Verizon Wireless is the second largest mobile network operator in the US, and is 55 per cent owned by [...]
Recruiter Hays says conditions remain challenging in UK banking and finance August 29, 2013 One of the UK’s largest recruitment companies Hays has reported a three per cent drop in pre-tax profits and a six per cent drop in earnings per share for the year ended June 2013, as strong growth in Europe fails to offset difficult market conditions in Australia. The group added that conditions in UK banking [...]
European Commission to accelerate decision on Greek bailout August 29, 2013 The European Commission’s head of economic and monetary affairs Olli Rehn has said that the necessity of a third bailout for Greece could be decided as soon as next month, saying international lenders will “intensify” work on this from September onwards. He told journalists that the European Union, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund [...]