Former BP Russia boss lined up for top nuclear decommissioning role February 19, 2017 David Peattie, the former boss at BP’s Russian operations, is the front runner to take over at the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA), according to reports in the Sunday Times. Tasked with managing Cumbria’s Sellafield estate, the NDA is a state-owned body that receives £3bn a year in public money, which amounts to 25 per cent [...]
American commitment to Nato is “unwavering” says US vice president Mike Pence February 18, 2017 American vice president Mike Pence has told world leaders the US would remain committed to Nato, after President Donald Trump questioned the worth of the military alliance. Pence offered “unwavering” commitment to Nato and said the US “is now and will always be your greatest ally” to delegates including German chancellor Angela Merkel at a security [...]
The best Twitter reactions to Donald Trump’s press conference February 17, 2017 Donald Trump held a press conference last night – and nobody really knows what happened. The US President dismissed concerns over connections between the White House and Russia, and launched another attack on the media. The President fired his national security officer, Mike Flynn, earlier this week after it emerged that Flynn had lied to vice [...]
Shares in the leading Coca-Cola bottling firm are fizzing as profit shoots up February 16, 2017 Leading drinks bottler Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company (HBC) today reached the top spot on the FTSE 100 risers' board as it announced its profit beat expectations yet again. The figures The soft drinks bottler's net profit jumped 22.5 per cent to €343.5m (£292.3m) from €280.3m for the year ended 31 December 2016. Net sales revenue lifted three per cent [...]
Russia’s Aeroflot trumps American heavyweights as the world’s most powerful airline brand February 14, 2017 Forget Emirates, American Airlines and British Airways. When it comes to the world's most powerful airline brand, another name has taken the crown. According to Brand Finance, which recently announced its annual Global 500 list featuring Lego, Google and co., Russian carrier Aeroflot is the world's most powerful airline brand. It carries an AAA brand rating [...]
The Bundesbank conspiracy: Why Germany is really repatriating its gold February 13, 2017 An official announcement last week that the Bundesbank had pretty much repatriated half its gold reserves ahead of schedule has once again sent the rumour mill into overdrive. Fans of the precious metal – not shy of a good conspiracy theory – have been deliberating over the move ever since Germany detailed it back in 2013. Initially, [...]
Here are four reasons why the Russian ruble is at its strongest level against the US dollar since July 2015 February 13, 2017 One of the best performing currencies of 2016 was the Russian ruble. In fact, having edged up a further 0.5 per cent against the US dollar overnight, the currency is at its strongest level against the greenback since July 2015. But what is driving the change? The answer is a mixture of actual changes and market [...]
Nine ways Donald Trump has already fallen out with American voters February 10, 2017 As the latest batch of polling results are released, Donald Trump finds himself increasingly at odds with both Republican and Democrat voters, it turns out. It's well known Trump’s approval ratings are the worst of any new President – but new figures suggest they have continued to slide since he took office on 20 January. According [...]
The UK government’s crackdown on encryption threatens to undermine London’s fintech boom February 10, 2017 Talk of calamity befalling corporate Britain as we negotiate our EU exit is typically overblown. Nevertheless there is a potentially serious conflict in the making between the UK government’s stated desire to maintain access to certain online data for reasons of national security and the continental European determination to institute a modern system of information [...]
Revolution: Russian art 1917-1932 review: A dense and difficult exhibition that rewards those who look beyond the red flags February 9, 2017 Revolution: Russian Art marks the centenary of the momentous turning point in Russian history, the October Revolution of 1917, with a monumentally packed survey of the complicated, politically charged visual art up to the suppression of the Avante-Garde by Stalin in 1932. The bright red first room, filled with propaganda and state-sanctioned Social Realist painting, [...]