B&Q owner Kingfisher’s new CEO blasts ‘disappointing’ like-for-like sales slump November 20, 2019 B&Q owner Kingfisher saw like-for-like sales sink 3.7 per cent over its third quarter, as its new chief executive admitted he has “much to do” to improve the business. Sales sank 3.1 per cent to £2.96bn over the quarter to the end of October, with the UK seeing a one per cent decline in like [...]
Keep calm, and don’t get carried away by lurid rumours about the Russia report November 20, 2019 One of the great mysteries of this election campaign to date has been why an unpublished report should be the cause of great and sustained political hysteria. This document has been cited by numerous sources as of pivotal significance to national security. Even Hillary Clinton — remember her? — has popped up to opine solemnly [...]
The emerging hipster capital of Germany, Leipzig’s history is rooted in revolution November 15, 2019 Look down on the quietly affluent pedestrianised streets of central Leipzig from the unparalleled heights of the Panorama Tower, and you would probably never guess that this is a city where the death knell was rung on the Cold War division of Germany. But this year Leipzig commemorates 30 years since a series of demonstrations [...]
DEBATE: Is it worrying that the report on Russian interference has not yet been published? November 13, 2019 Should we be concerned that the government’s report into Russian interference has not yet been released? Liz Jarvis, a writer and a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate in Southampton Itchen, says YES. In just over four weeks, voters will go to the polls without knowing whether or not they can trust the Conservatives on the issue [...]
Labour suffers second cyber attack in 24 hours November 12, 2019 Labour has been hit by a second cyber attack in two days, after hackers reportedly targeted the party’s web services this afternoon. Hackers tried to force its web services offline from around 1pm today, according to a Labour source. Read more: Labour experiences a ‘sophisticated and very large’ cyber attack A Labour spokesperson said: “We [...]
Labour experiences a ‘sophisticated’ cyber attack November 12, 2019 Labour has said it has been the victim of a “sophisticated and large scale cyber attack” on its digital platforms. However, a spokesperson for the party said the attempt had failed and there was no data breach. Read more: Hillary Clinton slams ‘shameful’ decision to delay Russian interference report “We took swift action and these [...]
Hillary Clinton slams ‘shameful’ decision to delay Russian interference report November 12, 2019 Hillary Clinton has slammed the UK government for delaying the release of a report into potential Russian political interference before next month’s election, calling it “shameful” and “inexplicable”. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) report has been given security clearance, but will not be publicly released before the 12 December General Election. Read more: General [...]
Gold hits highest values since 2013 amid geopolitical tensions November 5, 2019 Renewed economic concerns and rising geopolitical tensions has driven the value of gold to a six and a half year high, according to the Refinitiv GFMS gold survey. In the third quarter gold’s dollar value rose to an average of $1,472 (£1,144.5) per ounce, a 12 per cent increase on the previous quarter and 22 [...]
EU mulls new anti-money laundering body following scandals October 31, 2019 The EU is set to explore the creation of a new central authority to tackle money laundering after a series of high-profile scandals highlighted the bloc’s weakness in preventing dirty cash flowing through its banks. Finance ministers from EU countries are expected to mandate the European Commission to recommend a new “independent” enforcement body with [...]
Russian pipeline Nord Stream 2 gets final approval October 30, 2019 The controversial Russian oil pipeline Nord Stream 2 has been approved by Denmark, removing the last obstacle in the way of the project’s completion. The Danish permit, which has been pending since April 2017, was the last needed for the 1230km pipeline from Russia to Germany to be completed. Read more: European politicians blast Gazprom [...]