Leaked document trove reveals banking giants enabled money laundering September 20, 2020 Some of the world’s biggest banks have been caught enabling trillions of dollars in money laundering to flourish under their watch, thousands of leaked government documents have revealed. The FinCEN Files, named after the US Treasury’s anti-fraud agency, have been shared by Buzzfeed News and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). They claim to [...]
Liam Fox through to next round in WTO director general contest September 18, 2020 Liam Fox, Britain’s pick for the next director general of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has made it through to the second round of the selection process. The former international trade secretary was nominated by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July, after current director general Roberto Azevedo stepped down following a seven-year tenure. Three candidates, [...]
Government issues cybersecurity alert for UK education sector September 17, 2020 The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has today issued an alert to the entire education sector over fears that institutions’ cybersecurity is at risk, prompted by the rise in online schooling during the pandemic. Cybersecurity wonks at the NCSC, which is part of the intelligence agency GCHQ, are increasing the support available for UK schools, [...]
Burford Capital gets green light for dual listing in New York September 14, 2020 Aim-listed Burford Capital has received approval from the New York Stock Exchange for a dual listing of its shares. The litigation funder, which listed on London’s Aim exchange in 2009, said it had received approval “subject to customary listing condition”. Burford Capital announced plans to list in the US in July shortly after a renewed [...]
To understand Russian President Vladimir Putin, we must see the world through his eyes September 14, 2020 One of the most valuable analytical lessons of all was explained to me succinctly by my foreign policy tutor during my happy days at St. Andrews. As he put it, the key to political risk analysis is not to imagine what you would do if you were in Fidel Castro’s shoes, but rather to empathize [...]
US budget deficit hits record $3tn due to coronavirus spending September 12, 2020 The US budget deficit has reached a record high after topping $3tn (£2.3tn) as the government’s mass spending on coronavirus relief continues. The treasury department said it spent more than $6tn in the first 11 months of its financial year, which included $2tn on Covid-19 programmes. It means the figure outpaces the $3tn it took [...]
Microsoft: Russian hackers target US election again September 10, 2020 Hackers linked to Russia, China and Iran are attempting to spy on people tied to both President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Joe Biden, Microsoft has said. The tech firm has said that both presidential campaigns are at risk from hackers as the Russian group which hacked the 2016 Democratic campaign is again involved in [...]
Putin holds all the cards in Belarus September 7, 2020 One of the greatest problems in political risk analysis is that the heart so often gets the better of the head. Because we want a political outcome to happen, we think that it will. Karmic justice must apply to all situations in history, with the good rewarded and the bad punished. But this is to [...]
Russian opposition leader Navalny was poisoned with Novichok, says German government September 2, 2020 Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent, the German government has said. Last month Navalny was admitted to hospital after suffering severe symptoms of suspected poisoning. Tests of Navalny’s blood samples conducted at a German military laboratory produced “unequivocal evidence” that the Russian opposition critic was poisoned with Novichok, according to [...]
Facebook and Twitter take down Russia-backed accounts September 2, 2020 Facebook and Twitter have taken down a small network of accounts that were backed by a Russian influence operation, linked to interference in the 2016 US election. Facebook said the accounts were linked to Russia’s Internet Research Agency (IRA), which is close to the Russian government and accused of interfering in the 2016 US election. [...]