Mike Huckabee joins 2016 US presidential race for White House May 5, 2015 Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee became the latest US politician to announce he is running for president yesterday. In doing so, Huckabee joined an ever-growing list of Republicans seeking their party’s nomination in the 2016 presidential contest. Senators Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio have all thrown their hats into the ring, as have [...]
China’s stock market turmoil could spell bad news for London flotations August 26, 2015 When China sneezes, IPO-hungry investment bankers in London catch colds: it’s not quite as catchy as the original epithet, but it contains a distinct ring of truth. China’s stock market turmoil is unlikely to be a short-term phenomenon: the schizophrenic exhortations of Beijing to simultaneously beware of, and embrace, the ultimate expression of a [...]
Azerbaijan’s majestic scenery is refreshingly untouched by global tourism October 19, 2015 ‘Azerbaijan border – Good luck,” read the sign at the Georgian frontier town. I gulped, hoisted my backpack and reached for my passport. Ominous cautions from its neighbours notwithstanding, Azerbaijan is trying to court people like me. It’s not, on the face of it, an easy sell. Human Rights Watch recently noted “Azerbaijan’s government has [...]
BP profits tumble 50 per cent on lower oil prices and Deepwater Horizon charge July 28, 2015 BP shares are trading 1.19 per cent up in mid morning trading after it reported a 50 per cent drop in underlying profits during the second quarter of 2015, as lower oil prices and the Gulf of Mexico disaster continues to weigh on the company. The figure hit $1.31bn, undershooting analysts’ expectations of $1.6bn. Read more: One [...]
Agility is key for finance SMEs: Government policy plays a significant role in setting up small firms for success – ACCA Comment October 14, 2015 When Napoleon first called Britain a nation of shopkeepers, he almost certainly didn’t mean it as a compliment. Nevertheless, in typically British fashion, we took that insult and turned it into something to be proud of. It’s a mark of our enduring entrepreneurial spirit in business. These days, the love of the enterprising small [...]
Oil prices: Has black gold lost its shine? As Royal Dutch Shell takes a $4bn hit from a failed venture, are oil companies still investable? September 29, 2015 Royal Dutch Shell has halted oil exploration in the Arctic, after a $7bn (£4.6bn) quest failed to yield enough crude to justify continued spending. The venture has been a “very costly error” and will damage the company both financially and reputationally, according to Deutsche Bank analyst Lucas Herrman. Shell said it is likely [...]
Greece adds to toxic mix of global risks – CNBC Comment June 29, 2015 Grexit, Grexident and now Greferendum – the debt crisis in Greece has thrown up plenty of new portmanteaux, as linguistics professors would call these often tortuous combinations of words. And owing to the Greferendum becoming a reality this weekend, it now looks increasingly likely that the others may also move from concept to execution. Greek [...]
Here’s everything we learned about the oil market today April 15, 2015 Oil prices rose to a three-month high today after data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) showed a lower than expected build of crude oil stocks in the United States. It said crude stocks had risen by 1.29m barrels to 483.69m barrels in the week to April 10, coming in below a forecast for a 4.1m barrel [...]
The UK just came 20th in the biggest global schools ranking ever May 14, 2015 The UK has come 20th in the biggest ever ranking of the world's best school systems, trailing behind less developed countries such as Vietnam. It also showed around a fifth of school leavers are failing to reach a basic level of education in the UK, and that improving this could add trillions of dollars to [...]
Mining strength offsets worries over Greek deal – London Report June 24, 2015 BRITAIN’S top share index turned lower after touching a three-week high yesterday although it still outperformed Eurozone shares with strength in the mining sector insulating the index from the Greek debt standoff. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index hit 6,873.43 in morning trade, its highest level since June 4. It turned lower to trade up just [...]