From star sign to net worth – here’s what makes a billionaire January 8, 2016 Foreign accent, a couple of yachts and probably a secret swimming pool filled with money in their basement: when it comes to the typical billionaire, most of us have a pretty clear idea of what they look like. But new analysis of the last 20 years of Forbes' World's Billionaires list has painted a picture [...]
Life bans for trio in doping bribe scandal January 7, 2016 The scale of corruption in world athletics has been illustrated further after governing body the IAAF banned three top officials for life for blackmailing a Russian athlete as part of a doping conspiracy. Papa Massata Diack, son of the IAAF’s then-president Lamine Diack and a marketing consultant to the crisis-hit organisation, and senior Russian athletics [...]
Ukraine gears up for London legal battle: Russia is taking its neighbour to court over an old political loan January 4, 2016 The tense standoff between Ukraine and Russia over a $3bn loan will enter its next stages in London as we head into 2016. Russia said at the end of last week that it will be taking Ukraine to an English court after the country failed to repay a $3bn bond due last month. The countries’ debt [...]
Russian rouble dives against the dollar as economic picture darkens December 31, 2015 The Russian rouble tumbled yesterday as concerns over a prolonged oil price rout stoked fears surrounding the country's economy. The rouble sank 1.2 per cent at Rbs73.15 against the dollar yesterday, taking it to a record low. It has since recovered somewhat, and was last up 0.1 per cent at Rsb73.9. Russia's economy is heavily dependent on oil [...]
The five most important books Mark Zuckerberg read during his “A Year of Books” December 28, 2015 Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg this year set himself a personal challenge: To read a new book every other week in what he termed A Year of Books. Read more: Three of the best business books to read this Christmas "Reading has given me more perspective on a number of topics – from science to religion, from poverty to [...]
Bournemouth breached Financial Fair Play during promotion winning season and could face £10m fine from Football League December 24, 2015 Bournemouth could face a fine of up to £10m from the Football League for breaching its Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations during their promotion-winning campaign to the Premier League last season. The Football League announced that Cherries exceeded the maximum permitted loss for Championship clubs last season of £6m. Bournemouth's financial figures for the season [...]
Presents delivered to Tim Peake and the other ISS astronauts just in time for Christmas December 23, 2015 Time Peake and his team at the International Space station (ISS) have received their presents just in time for Christmas Day. A Progress 62P vehicle, loaded with gifts and equipment for experiments, docked this morning with the Pirs section of the station. It was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan two days earlier aboard [...]
Monarch Airlines flights to Sharm el-Sheikh cancelled until 24 January 2016 following EasyJet and British Airways lead after Russian MetroJet crash in Egypt holiday resort December 22, 2015 Monarch is the latest airline to cancel flights to Sharm el-Sheikh for the rest of the year, following an earlier move by EasyJet and British Airways. It comes in the wake of the Russian MetroJet plane crash near the popular holiday resort. It was later found to be caused by a bomb, for which Islamic State (IS) has claimed [...]
Luxury stocks including LVMH, Burberry and Kering have fallen out of favour: These days, it’s all about the stratospheric rise of Greggs’ sausage rolls December 22, 2015 Is this the end of luxury? It's certainly been a tough year for the most luxurious of brands, thanks in part to the slowdown in China, one of the fastest growing consumer markets. Options trader Banc de Binary has tracked the performance of some of the most high-end brands, including Kering, which owns Gucci, Balenciaga and [...]
EU extends Russia economic sanctions by six months December 21, 2015 The EU is extending economic sanctions against Russia by six months, it announced today. The sanctions, which were introduced in the July last year in response to Russia’s involvement in the annexation of Crimea in Ukraine, will stay in place until 31 July 2016. EU leaders linked the duration of the sanctions to the completion [...]