Sunscreen goes up to block rays from Walkie Scorchie skyscraper September 3, 2013 THE DEVELOPERS behind the Walkie Talkie skyscraper last night began erecting an enormous screen in an attempt to block the building’s ultra-bright reflections – but not before City A.M. harnessed the power of the beam to fry an egg. Exactly 347 years after the Great Fire of London ravaged the City, we took advantage of a hotspot [...]
Gazprom profit up five per cent as rebates drop September 3, 2013 RUSSIAN energy giant Gazprom posted a five per cent rise in first-quarter net profit yesterday as higher exports and lower rebates to customers helped it top forecasts. Gazprom said its net profit attributable to shareholders over the January to March period rose to 381bn roubles (£7.3bn) from 361bn roubles a year earlier. The result topped [...]
Western retail business looks to Russian capital for new markets September 3, 2013 EUROPEAN retailers are increasingly shifting their focus eastwards, as Moscow becomes a top destination for shoppers and consumer spending. Mark Faithfull, the editor of Retail Property Analyst, said: “Moscow is the obvious starting point for international retailers looking to expand”. He added that while luxury products were the first to find the market, familiar brands [...]
Petropavlovsk writes off $600m as gold price slump hits results August 29, 2013 RUSSIA-focused gold miner Petropavlovsk yesterday posted a first-half net loss after a gold price slump forced it to take about $600m (£386.9m) of impairment charges. Precious metals producers have had to write down billions of dollars after gold price fell 15 per cent since the start of the year. “These (impairments) have severely affected our [...]
Strikes on Syria may force the US and its allies into a war they will struggle to control August 29, 2013 DURING more than two years of conflict in Syria, Western countries have studiously avoided any direct participation in the fighting. Now, despite UK MPs’ vote against intervention last night, many nations (notably the US) remain on the verge of launching strikes against Syrian military targets following its regime’s apparent use of chemical weapons. But while [...]
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. [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
We must accept our limited capacity to resolve conflict in tinderbox Syria August 28, 2013 ONE OF the enduring consequences of the war in Iraq, and to a lesser extent Afghanistan, is a deep scepticism towards military intervention abroad among the British people. In the case of the civil war in Syria, I share that scepticism. There are four questions that need to be asked and answered by policymakers [...]
UK National Security Council unanimous on Syria ahead of Cameron’s UN meeting August 28, 2013 The UK National Security Council has unanimously agreed that the use of chemical weapons by Syrian president Bashar al-Asasad was “unacceptable”, UK prime minister David Cameron has said. Members of the UK NSC include defence secretary Philip Hammond, home secretary Theresa May, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, and other military and intelligence heads. The meeting, [...]