From Russia with kefir: How Biotiful Dairy sold a new drink to the British public March 2, 2020 How do you convince the British public to try a whole new food category, especially when it doesn’t sound very appealing at first glance? That was the challenge facing the Russian-born entrepreneur Natasha Bowes when she decided to try to start selling kefir in the UK. Kefir is a type of fermented milk drink made [...]
Portsmouth’s fan-led revival reaches new milestone with Arsenal FA Cup clash March 1, 2020 When Portsmouth welcome Arsenal to Fratton Park on Monday night there will be a release of emotions from the almost 20,000 Pompey fans present, many of whom are responsible for the club’s slow but steady revival. The fifth-round tie is the furthest the club have progressed in the FA Cup since the 2010 final and [...]
British American Tobacco boosts revenue to £25.8bn February 27, 2020 British American Tobacco today said its revenue rose nearly six per cent to £25.8bn last year. The tobacco giant reported adjusted diluted earnings per share of 323.8p, which was ahead of expectations and represented growth of 8.4 per cent at constant currency. Reported earnings per share was 12 per cent below Bloomberg’s consensus after a [...]
Fuming: Foreign Office names and shames embassies for unpaid congestion charges February 25, 2020 Transport for London (TfL) is owed more than £116m of unpaid congestion charges by diplomatic officials, with the US embassy leading the way. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office released the figures today, showing that the US embassy had accumulated a total of 102,225 unpaid congestion charges, which adds up to £12.44m in lost revenue for [...]
Dutch court reinstates $50bn Yukos award against Russia February 18, 2020 A Dutch appeals court today reinstated a $50bn (£38bn) award to shareholders in the now defunct oil giant Yukos. Yukos went bust in 2006 after its former chief executive Mikhail Khodorkovsky fell out with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian government began demanding billions in back taxes from Yukos and the company was ultimately expropriated [...]
The best luxury resorts in the Alps – where to stay and where to ski February 17, 2020 Tap your ski pass, perch on our comfortable chairlift and let City A.M. take you for a tour of the Alps’ best new (or newish) hotels. We’ve had the enviable task of spending the early part of this winter season reviewing the peaks of high-end hospitality and the black runs of flashy facilities; a blizzard [...]
Fighting dirty: The most outrageous US election advertising hit jobs February 17, 2020 Earlier this month, millions of Americans were treated to six identical seconds of election advertising from two opposing political parties. “America demanded change,” booms a Don LaFontaine-esque Hollywood trailer-style voice over. “And change is what we got.” The clip featured first in Donald Trump’s Super Bowl re-election TV ad on 2 February, which touted the President’s [...]
Trump’s tweets ‘make it impossible for me to do my job’, says William Barr February 14, 2020 US attorney general William Barr has said President Donald Trump’s use of Twitter “make it impossible for me to do my job” amid a high profile court case. His comments came in response to claims Trump pressured the Department of Justice (DoJ) into recommending a reduced jail sentence for the President’s former adviser, Roger Stone. [...]
Burford Capital faces setback in bitter battle over £350m mega-yacht February 11, 2020 Litigation funder Burford Capital has faced a setback in its battle to secure control of a £350m yacht in Dubai as part of a bitter divorce battle. Burford has funded Tatiana Akhmedova’s fight to secure the £453m divorce settlement granted against her ex-husband Farkhad Akhmedov by the English courts in 2016. Akhmedov refused to pay [...]
Aluminium group EN Plus to buy back a fifth of shares February 6, 2020 Russian aluminium and power producer EN Plus said it would buy back a fifth of its shares from state bank VTB for $1.6bn (£1.24bn) in response to the US lifting sanctions on the group. Oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who has close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, offloaded his controlling stake in EN Plus to VTB [...]