Japanese telecoms giant SoftBank lures Apple, Foxconn and Qualcomm to invest in its London-based $100bn tech fund January 4, 2017 Japanese telecoms giant SoftBank has attracted the likes of Apple, Foxconn, Qualcomm and Oracle founder Larry Ellison to invest in its $100bn (£81.4bn) London-headquartered tech fund. SoftBank will plough $25bn into the Vision Fund, while Apple has committed to putting in $1bn. "We believe their new fund will speed the development of technologies which may be strategically [...]
US interest rates could rise higher than expected this year, minutes from the US Federal Reserve’s December meeting show January 4, 2017 The latest US Federal Reserve minutes have shown officials at the central bank believe interest rates could be forced to rise higher than expected this year, if tax cuts and aggressive fiscal policy are enacted under President-elect Donald Trump's administration. Market reactions to the US presidential election and the expectation of aggressive fiscal policy drove officials to hike interest rates [...]
Carillion joint venture nabs £160m contract for development in Dubai’s central business district January 4, 2017 A Carillion joint venture has bagged a £160m contract to build a real estate development in the heart of Dubai's central business district. Al Futtaim Carillion has been awarded a contract by the Dubai World Trade Centre to deliver the latest phase of real estate development One Central, located between the Emirates Towers and Dubai [...]
Trading house Vitol nabs $1bn pre-finance oil deal with National Iranian Oil Company January 4, 2017 Vitol, the world's largest oil trader, is understood to have sealed a $1bn (£814m) pre-financing deal with Iran's national oil company. It has agreed to loan the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) $1bn equivalent in euros, guaranteed by future exports of refined oil products, sources told Reuters. The deal is the first major contract signed between Iran and [...]
Risk-filled 2017 drove gold investor sentiment to its highest level since 2012 last month, according to BullionVault January 4, 2017 Investor sentiment for gold hit its highest year-end level since 2012 at the end of last year, in anticipation of a risk-filled 2017, according to data from BullionVault. The metals trading platform's Gold Investor Index ended 2016 at 55.5, higher than the previous 12 months' average of 54.3 and comfortably above the 53.0 reading of December [...]
Mind the (pay) gap: Difference in pay for millennials is only five per cent in 20s but hikes significantly in 30s and 40s January 4, 2017 The gender pay gap has almost halved in a generation for millennials in their 20s, research out today shows, but the gulf is poised to escalate again once women reach their 30s and 40s. Millennial women, born between 1981 and 2000, who are now in their 20s earn around five per cent less than their [...]
Outgoing permanent representative to the EU Sir Ivan Rogers blasts government in leaked resignation email to staff January 3, 2017 Britain's outgoing representative at the European Union, Sir Ivan Rogers, launched a thinly-veiled attack on the government's Brexit preparations in a leaked resignation email he sent to staff. Rogers who is one of the UK's most senior EU negotiators, unexpectedly resigned from his role earlier today. Read more: If May publishes her Brexit plan, will it affect the [...]
British Airways cabin crew to strike for two days from 10 January over pay row January 3, 2017 British Airways (BA) cabin crew will stage a 48-hour strike next week in an ongoing row over "poverty pay" at the airline. Staff from BA's "mixed fleet" crew, which is based at Heathrow and makes up about 15 per cent of the group's total cabin crew, will be involved in the walkout from 10 January. On [...]
Gas prices on the industry-focused prompt market slide on first full day of trading January 3, 2017 Gas prices plunged in the first full day of trading in 2017, as weak demand and ramped-up North Sea supply wiped out many of the gains made in December. Prices for one contract on the short-term market, also known as the prompt market, fell by 3.15p or six per cent to 49.75p per therm. Some of the largest [...]
Wine wars: Chapel Down beats Champagne Bollinger to become new official Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race partner January 3, 2017 Corks will be popping at Chapel Down today, after the crowdfunding English winemakers signed a four-year agreement to become an official partner to the Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race. Chapel Down has usurped rival Champagne Bollinger to become the new wine partner of the annual race. This means that, for the first time, it will be bottles [...]
