Alpari in administration: 170 jobs at risk at spreadbetter January 19, 2015 Spreadbetting platform Alpari called in administrators from KPMG yesterday after it made huge losses in the wake of the Swiss franc’s shock appreciation last week. Its Bishopsgate office was in lockdown as bosses scrambled to find a buyer to rescue the business. But despite interest from firms thought to include IG Group and Australian firm [...]
Mad Dog lies in wait for Murray after Briton’s Bhambri cakewalk January 19, 2015 BRITAIN’S Andy Murray is no stranger to hot-headed outbursts on the tennis court but looks positively Zen compared to his next opponent at the Australian Open, Marinko Matosevic. Bosnia-born Australian national Matosevic is nicknamed Mad Dog for a lively temper that last year saw him fined for spitting, kicking out at a camera and verbally [...]
A quarter of women’s seeds fall but Sharapova lays down marker January 19, 2015 WORLD No2 Maria Sharapova bucked the trend on a disastrous first day for seeds in the women’s draw at the Australian Open yesterday by ruthlessly despatching Croatian Petra Martic. Sharapova, who can reclaim top spot in the WTA rankings by winning the year’s first grand slam, laid down a marker with a convincing 6-4, 6-1 [...]
Traders eye tie-ups after Swiss franc shock January 18, 2015 Spreadbetting and foreign exchange platforms were scrambling yesterday to shore up their positions in the wake of the Swiss franc’s soaring movements last week. Bidders are lining up to look through the books of Alpari, a Russian-owned spreadbetter which crashed on Friday as the franc’s movements wiped out some clients and drained the firm’s liquidity. [...]
Swiss franc crisis: Alpari disconnects phone lines as spreadbetting platform problems leave trader in shock January 18, 2015 Traders using Alpari’s spreadbetting platform have reacted with anger to the firm’s problems and its failure to communicate with clients who were locked out of their accounts. When the firm folded it initially told customers it had gone into insolvency, only to change the announcement on its website to say it could be sold [...]
Rouble rout stops Russian tourists spending in the UK January 18, 2015 Russia's economic quagmire is affecting the spending habits of Russians tourists in the UK, with total spending plunging 28 per cent last year according to research by tax experts Global Blue. Amid global sanctions over the Crisis in Ukraine, and a glut in the supply of oil leading to tumbling prices, thing went from bad [...]
Goldman Sachs revenues down 12 per cent January 16, 2015 Goldman Sachs shares fell 1.8 per cent in pre-market trading after it posted figures showing revenues had fallen 12 per cent to $7.96bn (£5.23bn) in the three months to the end of December, as revenues in its fixed income business dropped 29 per cent to $1.2bn. The investment bank said profits fell to $2.17bn or [...]
Update: Paris hostages freed after gunman hands himself in January 16, 2015 Update: A gunman who took two people hostage in a post office in the Paris suburb of Colombes today has handed himself in to police, with the siege ending without injury. According to French newspaper Liberation the "unbalanced" man, who is believed to have been armed with a Kalashnikov and handgun, had no connection to [...]
Russian Bank Alfa to close New York office and scale back London operations as US and European sanctions bite January 13, 2015 Russia’s Alfa Bank will close its New York office and slim down its London operation, according to Bloomberg. The scaling back of operations reflects the “level of interest in the Russian market” Alfa’s Moscow spokesman told Bloomberg. Russian firms have been under increasing pressure due to US and European sanctions, which have effectively frozen them [...]
Chateau Gütsch: Journey to Lucerne, the ticking heart of watchmaking January 11, 2015 Overlooking Lucerne, Chateau Gütsch is a belle-epoque retreat with a horological secret. As a writer with a particular penchant for Swiss watchmaking, I probably use the term “chocolate box” far too frequently. Hard not to when describing a springtime visit to an atelier nestled in the verdant Jura foothills, surrounded by cows and their clanking [...]