The most complex World Cup qualifying process yet? England’s path, the role of Qatar, the Nations League and Russia in the race for Europe’s 13 spots March 23, 2021 When Bill Shankly quipped that “football is a simple game complicated by people who should know better” he could have been talking about the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers. This week, England and the other 54 European national teams kick off their campaigns to reach next year’s tournament with a triple-header of matches. And the [...]
Fraudsters flog vaccines and vaccine passports on dark web March 23, 2021 Unscrupulous scammers are flogging Covid-19 vaccines, vaccine passports and fake negative test results on the dark web as they take advantage of the pandemic. Doses of the Astrazeneca, Sputnik, Sinopharm and Johnson & Johnson jabs are being advertised for sale for as much as $750 (£545). Fake vaccination certificates are also being sold by anonymous [...]
Panic reflation, oil plunge and Bitcoin-led chip shortage March 19, 2021 Market sentiment is mixed this Friday morning. The Powell boost did not last long on the US equities which returned to the reflation setup. Investors sold tech stocks aggressively, sending Nasdaq 3 per cent lower during Thursday’s trading session. The S&P500 shed 1.48 per cent, as Dow Jones (-0.46 per cent) remained somehow resilient to [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Shadow to be the HK Derby Hero March 18, 2021 MAKE sure you set your alarm for 8.40am on Sunday morning for the £2.2million BMW HK Derby at Sha Tin. With no stand-out performers in the race, this is a fascinating and wide-open contest and trying to find the winner is like detective Hercule Poirot trying to solve an Agatha Christie who-done-it mystery. There are [...]
Russia for Trump, Iran for Biden: report shows interference in 2020 US election March 16, 2021 Vladimir Putin knew of and likely directed a Russian effort to help former US President Donald Trump win the 2020 presidential campaign, according to US intelligence officials. In a report published today, the officials said the Russian interference included spreading “misleading or unsubstantiated allegations” against challenger – and now President – Joe Biden. The allegations [...]
Hong Kong Racing Tips: Wally Pyrah’s Happy Valley fancies March 16, 2021 DOUGLAS Whyte’s NORDIC WELLSTAR looks the star bet, on an intriguing and highly competitive nine-race programme, at Happy Valley in Hong Kong on Wednesday. This is a big week for the former 13-time champion jockey turned trainer, who will be looking to his ex-Australian four-year-old as a launch pad for success when the he lines-up [...]
EU orders more Pfizer vaccine doses as Sweden joins countries halting Astrazeneca jab March 16, 2021 The EU has ordered more doses of Pfizer’s Covid vaccine to plug a shortfall that has arisen from a swathe of countries banning the Astrazeneca jab over safety concerns. European Commission president Ursula Von der Leyen announced on Twitter that the EU had agreed an “accelerated delivery of 10m doses” of the Pfizer vaccine to [...]
ABN Amro shares drop as concerns over size of money laundering fine grow March 15, 2021 ABN Amro shares were down by 4 per cent this morning following reports that the Dutch bank could face a much higher-than-expected fine in an ongoing money laundering investigation. The bank’s annual report, published last week, gave a detailed account of a pending investigation in its home market, making it clear the probe is much [...]
EU considers turning to Russia’s Sputnik vaccine as Astrazeneca scepticism swells March 15, 2021 The EU is in discussions to place an order of Russia’s Sputnik vaccine, according to reports, as scepticism about the efficacy and possible side effects of Astrazeneca’s Covid jab considers to spread across the continent. The bloc is now turning to Moscow’s Sputnik V vaccine as it attempts to speed up its sluggish immunisation programme, [...]
Parallel markets: The City must push back against Europe’s protectionist financial walls March 12, 2021 Governments, however enlightened and visionary, can so often make two fundamental errors of judgement about global financial service markets: they grossly underestimate their multi trillion dollar power and manoeuvrability. They forget their close attention to competition, cost and risk, and the pursuit of liquidity. In continuing to raise protectionist walls around its internal financial markets, the [...]