Fifa crisis: Germany “appears” to have used bribes to win right to host 2006 World Cup, says newspaper October 16, 2015 Germany is the latest country to become embroiled in Fifa corruption allegations after a local newspaper announced it had uncovered evidence of potential bribes used to win the right to host the 2006 World Cup. Der Spiegel says it has information which suggests the German bid committee had set up a slush fund with 10.3 Swiss francs, [...]
UK farmers get a funding boost: £138m given to rural communities to help them grow October 16, 2015 In an attempt to help UK farmers grow and diversify their business, the government is giving them access to £138m of funding. Under a scheme dubbed LEADER, rural communities will be able to use the money to support projects in their local area, such as the creation of farm shops and ice cream parlours, or the [...]
S&P slashes Russia’s economic growth forecasts amid weak oil prices October 15, 2015 Credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's (S&P) has said that oil prices remaining lower for longer will punish Russia's economy. S&P slashed its forecasts for Russia's economic growth from -2.6 per cent to -3.6 per cent this year, and from 1.9 per cent to 0.3 per cent in 2016. "The change reflects our expectations of a more prolonged weakness in [...]
The war on the driver is a war on freedom – and autonomous cars are part of the problem October 14, 2015 Freedom-hating municipal politicians have it in for the motorist: London has its congestion charge, Dublin is closing off ever more of its urban core, and Paris is now experimenting with sporadically banning all private transport. Young people, faced with turbo-charged costs, onerous restrictions and absurd taxation – not to mention rising housing costs – [...]
E.On to sell Norwegian oil and gas assets to firm owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman October 14, 2015 German utility giant E.On is selling its Norwegian oil and gas assets to a company owned by Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman for $1.6bn (£1.04bn), as part of its ongoing restructuring plan for its oil and gas division. The blue-chip firm, whose UK supply arm is one of the big six energy providers, saw its share price [...]
Euro 2016: Robin Van Persie scores own goal in defeat by Czech Republic as Holland fail to qualify for first finals since 2002 October 14, 2015 Holland failed to reach a major finals for the first time since 2002 after their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign ended with a 3-2 defeat to Group A winners Czech Republic at the Amsterdam Arena last night. Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Robin van Persie scored an own goal to hand the Czechs a three-goal advantage [...]
Flight MH17 final crash report released: Dutch investigators confirm Malaysian Airlines plane was brought down by Buk missile October 13, 2015 Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 was brought down by a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile, Dutch investigators have confirmed. Speaking at a press conference in Gitze-Rijen today, Tjibber Joustra, the Dutch Safety Board chairman, showed an animation of MH17's last moments. The missile hit the front left hand side of the plane – the cockpit – killing three crew [...]
Banks dump US debt pile: Cash-strapped central bankers are offloading treasuries in huge loads October 13, 2015 Emerging market governments are dumping US treasuries en masse, in the latest sign of the pressure their economies are under. China, Brazil, Russia and Taiwan have all been sellers, accounting for some of the $123bn in foreign net sales of treasury debt maturing in a year. This figure is for the 12 months to [...]
Georgia Healthcare plans to raise £65m in London IPO October 12, 2015 Tblisi-based medical insurer Georgia Healthcare has announced plans to raise $100m (£65m) by listing its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The healthcare service and medical insurance provider – Georgia's largest – is a subsidiary of the Bank of Georgia, which has been listed on London's blue-chip index since 2006. Read more: London pharma flotations are rising [...]
Russian commodities firms Eurasia Drilling Company, Uralkali PJSC and Polyus Gold are fleeing London’s stock markets October 12, 2015 Russians are flocking to leave the London stock exchange as commodities companies take a hammering. Eurasia Drilling Company, Russia's largest driller, confirmed this morning its managers would buy out the company and de-list it from the London Stock Exchange, for an increased price of $11.75 a share. If the deal goes ahead, and is approved by two-thirds [...]