Nato might up its nuclear weapon development in the face of Russian threats June 25, 2015 Nato is reviewing its nuclear weapons policy in response to escalating tensions with Russia over the situation in Ukraine. Read more: The UK is building a new Royal Navy ship to defend against “Russian aggression”, says defence secretary Michael Fallon At a ministerial meeting in Brussels yesterday, sources from the organisation said they were [...]
Advertising giant WPP beats expectations as Sir Martin Sorrell says he is still bullish on China August 26, 2015 WPP's share price fell more than one per cent this morning, despite beating expectations on both profit and like-for-likes. The figures The advertising giant reported headline profit before tax up 12.1 per cent to £596m – ahead of expectations that it would come in around £590m – and up 13.2 per cent on a constant [...]
Ukraine hikes interest rates to 30pc to stem runaway inflation March 3, 2015 Ukraine has hiked interest rates by whopping 10.5 percentage points to 30 per cent. The war-torn country's central banks took the dramatic step to tackle runaway inflation and a weak currency. So far this year Ukraine's currency, the hryvnia, looks set to replicate its position last year as the world's worst performing currency. The hryvnia [...]
A year after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, has the West managed to contain Vladimir Putin? March 16, 2015 Timothy Ash, head of emerging market research (excluding Africa) at Standard Bank, says Yes To answer this, one has to understand Vladimir Putin’s overall long-term strategic objectives regarding Ukraine. If they are threefold – no EU, no Nato and no successful Maidan administration in Kiev – then the Russian President has unfinished business. The combination [...]
Who would have won the Eurovision Song Contest if the result was based only on the telephone vote? May 24, 2015 Who would have won the Eurovision Song Contest if we only counted the popular vote? The voting process, in most cases, is split in two. A jury of four panel members from each country votes to rank the songs, and the viewers at home do the same. The votes are then aggregated to give an [...]
World powers clash over solution to the Ukraine crisis February 7, 2015 World leaders clashed over possible solutions to the on-going crisis in Ukraine today, highlighting a lack of consensus over how to halt the conflict which has so far killed around 5,000 people. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned sending arms to Ukraine to fight Russian separatists would be futile, sparking sharp [...]
Kiev’s tough finance chief Natalie Jaresko puts her case to the world March 24, 2015 “I am facing very different challenges to those he faces,” says the Ukrainian finance minister hours after meeting George Osborne, the UK chancellor. Natalie Jaresko is in the middle of a whistlestop tour of London and New York, during which she hopes to put her case to her war-torn country’s creditors and also to enlist [...]
Ukraine fears further attacks February 23, 2015 UKRAINE said yesterday it feared unrest could spread beyond territory held by pro-Russian separatists, after an explosion killed two people at a memorial rally in an eastern city far from the front line. Kiev said it arrested four people who had been armed and trained in Russia after the blast, which killed a policeman and [...]
The end of an illusion: What Boris Nemtsov’s murder means for the international community March 14, 2015 On February 27, Boris Nemtsov, the Russian statesman, physicist, and outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was executed by unknown assailants just outside Moscow’s Red Square. A liberal reformer, Nemtsov was a key figure in the introduction of capitalism to post-Soviet Russia. He was also seen as a uniting figure, someone who could bring [...]
Flour-miller Carr’s sees raised profits despite sliding revenue April 13, 2015 RISING sales and food production pushed profits for Carr’s Group upwards, despite a decline in revenue, the company reported yesterday. The agriculture, food and engineering firm posted a modest profit before tax of £10.6m for the six months ending 28 February, up by more than 5.4 per cent on the same period last year. Revenue, [...]