Ukraine war backfires as Russia’s economy is expected to take dramatic 10 per cent hit this year March 10, 2022 Analysts this morning revised their economic forecast for Russia in light of international sanctions imposed following the invasion of Ukraine. Experts at the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) said they expect economic activity to be severely disrupted with both domestic demand and the external sector taking a hit. “While the full impact of international sanctions and [...]
Roman Abramovich facing sanctions as UK adds Chelsea owner to Putin oligarchs hit list March 10, 2022 Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich has been added to the UK’s sanctions list, Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said. She said Vladimir Putin’s attacks on Ukraine involved “new levels of evil by the hour” and the Government had announced further sanctions “against individuals linked to the Russian Government”. “This list includes Roman Abramovich, the owner of Chelsea [...]
Russia confirms use of vacuum bombs and is expected to deploy private mercenaries in Ukraine March 10, 2022 The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said this morning Russia has confirmed the use of thermobaric rockets – often called vacuum bombs – in Ukraine and is also “likely” deploying private mercenaries. The MoD said its Russian counterpart had confirmed the use of thermobaric rockets creating “incendiary and blast effects” in the invasion. A video posted [...]
DS Smith: What inflation? Amazon partner shrugs off rising costs March 10, 2022 DS Smith reported its latest results this morning, which were largely in-line with expectations. The group’s been able to fully offset rising costs with price increases and volume growth. The impact of rising energy costs has been mitigated by improved efficiency and a hedging strategy. Full year like-for-like volume growth is expected to be in [...]
Russian forces intensify siege: Three hospitals hit as Ukraine war turns uglier two weeks in March 10, 2022 Bombs reportedly fell on three hospitals across Ukraine overnight. An airstrike on a maternity hospital in the port city of Mariupol wounded women waiting to give birth and buried children in the rubble as Russian forces intensified their siege of Ukrainian cities. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said it has confirmed 18 attacks on medical [...]
Turnaround Thursday: Capita’s revenue back at £3bn after six years decline March 10, 2022 Capita grew its revenue last year after six years of decline, showing the results of a slow turnaround for the outsourcing giant. The business reported a modest 0.4% revenue hike to £3bn in the 21 months to the end of December. Pre-tax profit swung to £286m, from a loss of £49m the year before. “It [...]
Staff at John Lewis to share £46m bonus pot after profits rebound by nearly 40 per cent March 10, 2022 Staff at the John Lewis Partnership will share a £46m bonus pot after the retail giant saw underlying annual profits rebound by 38 per cent. The group, which also owns upmarket supermarket chain Waitrose, said it will pay a bonus of 3% to its employees, or one-and-a-half weeks’ pay, and increase wages by 2 per [...]
Russian ‘dumb bomb’ attack kills dozens of civilians in Ukrainian city of Chernihiv March 9, 2022 A Russian airstrike that reportedly killed 47 civilians in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv may constitute a war crime, human rights group Amnesty International said today following an investigation into the attack. At approximately 12.15pm on Thursday 3 March, a small public square formed by Chernihiv’s Viacheslava Chornovola and Kruhova streets was hit by multiple [...]
Tokyo exploits global anti-Russia sentiment to announce Kremlin-controlled Kuril Islands belong to Japan March 9, 2022 Fumio Kishida, Japan’s prime minister, said that southern Kuril Islands are a sovereign part of his country, and not part of Russia, which has controlled the group of islands since 1945. Speaking in the Diet earlier this week, Kishida told lawmakers the Kuril Islands are “original territories of Japan”. The islands have been a point [...]
As cost of living crisis rages, Extinction Rebellion plots to block oil refineries across the UK next month March 9, 2022 Extinction Rebellion has announced plans to block major UK oil refineries in April. The direct action group said it intends to “stop the harm at the source” as part of its campaign to force the Government to stop the fossil fuel economy. The protest group Just Stop Oil will also be blocking refineries across the [...]