Brexit breakthrough: Cabinet ministers poised to back modified max fac customs option as Irish border solution breaks Brexit deadlock June 1, 2018 Ministers charged with determining the UK’s position on post-Brexit customs are poised to argue for a modified version of the “max fac” option, after making a breakthrough on the Irish border issue, City A.M. understands. For nearly a month, Cabinet ministers have been analysing the two options – the new customs partnership, or NCP, initially [...]
Exclusive: Cabinet ministers poised to back max fac customs option as Irish border solution breaks Brexit deadlock May 31, 2018 Ministers charged with determining the UK’s position on post-Brexit customs are poised to argue for a modified version of the “max fac” option, after making a breakthrough on the Irish border issue, City A.M. understands. For nearly a month, Cabinet ministers have been analysing the two options – the new customs partnership, or NCP, initially [...]
End of the Roman empire? Abramovich, visas and the sudden halt of Chelsea’s £1bn stadium project May 31, 2018 Roman Abramovich has transformed Chelsea from financially stricken also-rans to serial winners and global behemoth since buying the west London club from Ken Bates in a £140m deal 15 years ago. But questions about the Russian billionaire’s future as owner have resurfaced after the Blues called an abrupt halt to their plans to redevelop their [...]
More turmoil for gold miner Petropavlovsk as it ousts board member May 31, 2018 London-listed Russian gold miner Petropavlovsk is ousting one of its board members as a part of an ongoing struggle over the future leadership of the company. The company announced today that it is serving notice on board member Bektas Mukazhanov. Mukazhanov, who was only appointed in February, is an investment adviser at Cyprus-based Fincraft Holdings. [...]
Brexit in the balance | City A.M. May 31, 2018 The Brexit negotiations are stuck in a stalemate. The EU is playing hardball on everything from the UK’s participation in the Galileo satellite navigation programme and the European Arrest Warrant to the Irish border issue. It scents weakness. Confusion and chaos reign in the UK government, where internal disagreements over Brexit have become paralysing. Read [...]
Exclusive: Putin critic Bill Browder blasts UK over arrest May 30, 2018 Financier and anti-Kremlin campaigner Bill Browder has accused the UK government of failing to protect him after he was arrested in Spain yesterday morning. The Hermitage Capital founder, who was detained in Madrid under a Russian Interpol arrest warrant, told City A.M. Russia was using the system “to track down enemies of the Putin regime”. He added: [...]
Yandex amps up its premium offering with new smart speaker launch and subscription service May 29, 2018 Yandex, also colloquially known as Russia’s answer to Amazon and Google, has today launched a smart speaker and a corresponding premium subscription service, alongside a range of expansions to its artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem and intelligent assistant Alice. Known as Yandex.Station, the 9,990 roubles (£120) smart speaker is both Yandex’s first hardware product and the [...]
Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich becomes Israeli citizen May 28, 2018 Russian billionaire and Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich has become an Israeli citizen and is planning to move to Tel Aviv where he’s bought a property, Israeli media has reported. Abramovich had reportedly been facing difficulties renewing his UK visa amid deteriorating relations between Russia and Britain. The government has declined to comment on the [...]
Is it cheaper to live in the Home Counties than London? May 25, 2018 Buyers are often surprised when they discover how much more affordable the council taxes in London are in comparison to what they are paying to live within commuting distance of the Capital. Last month saw these costs increase across the country. On top of this, rail fare rises continue to outstrip wage growth, so the [...]
Government cracking down on Russian investor tier one visas May 21, 2018 The government is clamping down on rules for Russian oligarchs who want to stay in the UK, Downing Street has confirmed. A first set of action was taken in 2014-15, including the introduction of powers to refuse applications “where there are reasonable grounds to believe funds have been obtained unlawfully”, which resulted in an 84 [...]