MPs spent more than 115 days tweeting last year – but who sent the most? August 22, 2014 Our publicly elected leaders have spent more than 115 days tweeting in the last year – a total of 2,774 hours – with nearly three-quarters of all MPs now on the social media platform. A report published by Westminster Public Affairs shows that parliamentarians sent a total of 718,431 Tweets for the 12 months [...]
Opec is dead: The oil war could crown America as the global swing producer January 18, 2015 I well remember suffering through my college macroeconomic class, steeling myself to stay awake through the consumption of gallons of coffee. However, one of the rare things that piqued my interest was the theory of cartels. Properly defined, an efficient cartel possesses three basic properties: the ironclad discipline of its membership; a commanding market position; [...]
West eases economic sanctions on Iran over nuclear agreement January 20, 2014 SANCTIONS were eased yesterday as part of a groundbreaking nuclear agreement between Iran and western nations. Iran has agreed to curb its uranium enrichment to calm fears over its plans, a deal the International Atomic Energy Agency believes Iran is keeping to. The interim arrangements will see some assets unfrozen as well as an opening [...]
Curbs on Iran’s nuclear activity start next week January 12, 2014 A DEAL for Iran to freeze parts of its nuclear program in return for sanctions relief will take effect on 20 January, giving world powers and Tehran six months to agree a complete end to a standoff that has raised the risk of a wider Middle East war. US Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned [...]
Twitter paying out $140 to people who report bugs September 3, 2014 Micro-blogging service Twitter has launched HackerOne – a program that will pay at least $140 to security researchers every time they report a bug or vulnerability in their system. The purpose, Twitter says, is “to recognize their efforts and the important role they play in keeping Twitter safe for everyone." The rewards will [...]
Iran budget to attack inflation December 8, 2013 New Iranian president Hassan Rouhani revealed his first budget yesterday, pledging to rid the country of the stagflation that it currently suffers from. Iran entered a recession during late 2012, following the EU’s embargo on the Iranian oil industry, which began in July. The country is also gripped by an inflationary crisis: according to Professor [...]
Maliki’s ignominious exit is good for Iraq – now let’s hope he goes quietly August 12, 2014 As is often the case, Nouri al-Maliki’s Iraqi government found itself abandoned by even its oldest friends in the end. As the internal revolt within his Dawa Party to replace him as Prime Minister gathered pace, Maliki found his old buttresses of support had quietly buckled. The Americans had finally given up on him in [...]
Oil price drop: How does it affect Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, the US, the UK and the Eurozone? December 5, 2014 The price of Brent crude oil has dropped by around 40 per cent since June, at one point falling to its lowest level in more than four years. It's now stablising at around $70 a barrel, but speculators think it could fall further – perhaps down to $65, maybe even as far as $60 [...]
Nicola Horlick: What effects will the fall of oil prices actually have? December 17, 2014 The precipitous fall in the oil price has resulted in sharp declines in share prices around the world, but the long-term effect of a lower oil price is to reduce the amount of cash in the pockets of oil producers and increase the amount available to consumers to spend. Overall, this is positive for markets [...]
PwC fined $25m for hiding bank information from US regulators August 18, 2014 Consultants at PwC hid information from regulators on Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi’s efforts to falsify records of sanction breaking, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) said yesterday, issuing a $25m (£14.9m). The professional services giant is also banned from some regulatory consulting work for two years. The bank falsified wire transfer data when [...]