The City View: Michael Hewson on Germany’s Russian energy oversights and Merkel’s legacy April 19, 2022 Today Andy Silvester talks to Michael Hewson, Chief Markets Analyst at CMC Markets. They go through the latest IMF forecasts, which included downgrades and the worst growth forecast in the G7 for the UK; Germany’s exposure to energy price fluctuations, the mounting pressure to reduce its dependency on Russian oil and gas, and Angela Merkel’s [...]
Chaos at the Kremlin: Isolated Putin detains senior FSB security chiefs while third Russian general is killed in Ukraine March 13, 2022 Two senior officers in the Russian security service, the FSB, have been put under house arrest by President Vladimir Putin, according to a report this weekend. Andrei Soldatov, of the investigative website Agentura, reported that Sergei Beseda, the head of the Fifth Service – the FSB’s foreign intelligence branch – and his deputy have been [...]
Ex Bank of England governor Mark Carney says climate crisis will ‘dwarf’ economic problems May 5, 2022 Following the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates, its former government has said the climate crisis will “dwarf” current economic hardship. Mark Carney, who is now as special envoy for climate action with the United Nations, called on the government to move away from polluting fossil fuels. He said the move away from [...]
London’s open economy was exploited by corrupt money, now we must make it our strength April 6, 2022 For centuries, London has been a haven for people fleeing persecution, war, famine, and other catastrophes. From the French Huguenots of the 18th Century to Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazis, we have a strong and proud tradition in this city of welcoming, integrating, and supporting refugees. It is in London’s DNA and an integral part [...]
Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan become first Wall Street giants to exit Russia March 11, 2022 Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan yesterday became the first Wall Street heavyweights to pull out of Russia, following its invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. With Goldman leading, it is expected that others will follow, as Russia is accused of war crimes. More than 330 firms have either exited or significantly cut back their operations in Russia [...]
Editorial: Business should be just business, until it’s much more than that February 27, 2022 ONE assumes it wasn’t supposed to play out quite like this for Vladimir Putin. The Russian President surely anticipated a quick and easy military incursion into Ukraine – a military horribly overmatched, an inexperienced leader, and with the west unwilling to support. It is still so very early, but it does not appear that Putin [...]
Russian broadcaster claims two captured Brits could face ‘death penalty’ May 3, 2022 A Russian television presenter has claimed two captured Brits may face the death penalty for fighting on the Ukrainian side int he war. The broadcaster , Rossiya 1, aired footage in the occupied Donetsk region, which Russia claims to have control over, and is rumoured to be planning an ‘independence’ referendum for. The two captured [...]
Inflation to accelerate far ahead of Bank of England’s target as rate hikes loom March 8, 2022 Inflation in the UK will soar far above the Bank of England’s target this year as the Russia-Ukraine war drives energy prices to record highs. Accelerating prices will hit “almost all businesses and consumers” this year and choke economic growth, Thomas Pugh, an economist at RSM, warned today, adding that the cost of living could [...]
Truss attacked over emergency Budget as she steps up Number 10 preparations August 23, 2022 A close ally of Rishi Sunak attacked Liz Truss today over her plans to hold an emergency Budget in September as the foreign secretary steps up her preparations for entering Number 10. Mel Stride, one of Sunak’s campaign whips, wrote to the Treasury in his role as chair of Westminster’s Treasury Select Committee to say [...]
China will get old before it gets rich and a waning Beijing is a more direct threat March 7, 2023 China faces an ageing population and a western world increasingly alive to the threat it poses; Beijing isn’t dangerous because it will outpace the US, it’s as China falls behind, Xi Jinping is more likely to lash out, writes John Hulsman.