Putin’s judo partner Arkady Rotenberg among Russians hit by EU sanctions July 31, 2014 Among those Russians hit by the EU's latest round of sanctions are President Vladimir Putin's judo partner Arkady Rotenberg, who is already on a US sanctions list. The European Commission has published the names of eight Russians and three companies that will have their assets frozen as a consequence of Kremlin's actions in eastern Ukraine. [...]
EU sanctions Putin’s cronies as G7 nations say more may come July 30, 2014 The European Union yesterday extended sanctions against the Russian government to another group of individuals and organisations, freezing the assets of “cronies” of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to one EU official. The eight individuals included Arkady Rotenberg, a friend of Putin, who has benefitted from public contracts and the gains of Moscow’s state-owned firms. The [...]
London Report: Argentina, US and Russia fears weigh on FTSE July 30, 2014 FEARS yesterday over Russian sanctions and an Argentinian default, as well as concerns that good GDP figures from the US might push up interest rates brought the FTSE lower. London’s blue chip index ended the day on 6773.44 points, 0.5 per cent, or 34.31 points, lower. Among the gainers, Barclays jumped 4.2 per cent to [...]
Dagger in the Kremlin’s heart: Europe’s sanctions have revived a comatose West July 30, 2014 “We live between the act of awakening and the act of surrender.” John O’Donohue, Irish poet MY GOD, they’ve finally done something. In the end, it wasn’t the horrific shooting down of MH17 – highly likely by Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine – that goaded a seemingly inert Europe into decisive action. Even after this [...]
US and EU sanctions on Russia: It’s not another cold war says Obama, yet Putin won’t thaw July 29, 2014 The US and Europe have joined forces to tighten the screws on Russia’s President Putin, as the spectre of downed Malaysia airlines flight MH17 continues to tug at the consciences of western leaders. As ambassadors in Brussels yesterday finally agreed a package of new sanctions designed to bring the Russian economy to its knees, Prime [...]
Fragile expansion in Russia and Eurozone set for sanctions shock July 29, 2014 Russian markets and economic growth could be damaged further by a new round of European sanctions, which go further than forecasters had thought. “It seems like the EU has done even more than the majority of analysts have been expecting,” said Evghenia Sleptsova of Roubini Global Economics. “The sanctions are going to have more of [...]
Banker’s oath? Pah! How about threaten them with ye old bag of adders? July 29, 2014 The launch of ResPublica’s Virtuous Banking Report, from which the now famous suggestion of a banker’s oath sprung, caused quite a commotion yesterday. When Lord Phillips asked former CBI director general Sir Richard Lambert why more bankers were not in jail for their misdeeds, Lambert responded with a pertinent history lesson. “You should read the [...]
London Report: GKN and Next report upbeat earnings to lift FTSE after slump July 29, 2014 THE FTSE 100 posted its first gain in three days yesterday, with upbeat earnings reports from GKN and Next lifting the mood. However, shares in BP bucked the trend, falling amid concerns on the fallout from new, tougher sanctions on Russia. The index climbed 0.3 per cent to close at 6,807.75, recovering from a 0.1 [...]
EU hits Russia with fresh sanctions as tensions escalate July 29, 2014 EU governments have agreed to impose a host of economic sanctions against Russia, taking aim at bank financing, technology, defence equipment and the oil industry, according to EU sources. At meetings held today in Brussels, it was also agreed that Russian state-owned banks would be barred from selling shares or bonds in Europe. Today's developments [...]
BP share price drops after strong start July 29, 2014 Despite beating earnings expectations, BP has seen its share price slide this morning; possibly due to fears it is exposed to the fallout from the Yukos case. Russia has been ordered to pay $50bn (£29bn) to shareholders of the now defunct company after the Kremlin seized and broke up the company dishing out its assets. BP [...]