This Middle East tragedy will become a catastrophe if Obama missteps now July 14, 2014 My wife recently passed along to me an almost unutterably beautiful video from the Royal Shakespeare Company. In it, Camille O’Sullivan performs “Daughter, Dear Daughter” from the Bard’s moving The Rape of Lucrece, giving voice to the universal anguish of a parent burying a child. It ends with the harrowing plea, “Then live, sweet Lucrece, [...]
Warsi warns Conservatives won’t win election outright without attracting ethnic minority votes August 10, 2014 Baroness Warsi, the Conservative minister who resigned this week over the government’s position on Gaza, has warned the Conservative party that it will fail to win an outright majority at next year’s general election if it doesn’t do more to attract voters from ethnic minorities. Speaking in interviews with the Independent on Sunday and The [...]
New York Report: Apple at core of S&P record July 23, 2014 US stocks yesterday ended mostly higher, with the S&P 500 closing at a record on Apple’s bullish results. However, Boeing weighed on the Dow and conflicts in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip kept the broader market’s gains in check. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 26.91 points or 0.16 per cent, to end at 17,086.63. [...]
New York Report: Global crisis fears rock Dow July 17, 2014 Rising geopolitical risks sparked by a downed Malaysia Airlines jet over Ukraine and an Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza strip yesterday dragged down American markets. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 161.39 points, or 0.9 per cent, to 16,976.81, after closing at a record 17,138.20 on Wednesday. The S&P 500 dropped 23.45, or 1.2 [...]
Advertising giant WPP need not fret over black swans – Bottom Line August 26, 2014 The sun, I hope, has finally made an appearance this morning, to remind us that – despite this week’s cold and wind and rain – we are still, technically, in summertime. There have been several common themes to the summer months of 2014. A constant stream of miserable data about the Eurozone economy, is one. [...]
MH17 plane crash and US sanctions against Russia fuel oil price jump July 18, 2014 Global oil prices have risen steeply as fears of a prolonged period of heightened geopolitical tension, and its possible impact on oil supplies, grew following the downing of the Malaysia Airlines jet in eastern Ukraine. The crash of flight MH17 on route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, which led to the loss of 298 [...]
Broad chasing early scalps but not a follow-on July 29, 2014 SEAMER Stuart Broad admits that England are unlikely to enforce the follow-on today despite it remaining a viable option after seven Indian wickets fell on day three of the third Test in Southampton. The tourists reached 323-8 at the close yesterday, 246 behind England’s first innings total of 569-7 declared and still 47 runs short [...]
MH17 plane crash: Markets slump as Malaysian Airlines share price falls July 18, 2014 European shares edged lower today, weighed down by geopolitical risks in the aftermath of the MH17 Malaysian Airlines crash over eastern Ukraine and the Israeli ground offensive in the Gaza strip. Investors reacted with caution to the uncertainty over how the downing of the jetliner would impact the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and separatists, as [...]
Sport Comment: Hail Harry, back in the top flight like a returning Mitchell brother August 10, 2014 IT IS one of the inexplicable inexplicablenesses of modern life that it’s far easier to ask a politician a difficult question about multiple deaths in Gaza or Iraq than it is to ask a Premier League football manager about an injured player or a disappointing performance. They intimidate their inquisitors with steely, dismissive or just [...]
Eurozone recovery clouded by poor industrial output August 13, 2014 The Eurozone's industrial output for June fell behind economists' expectations, placing a cloud over hopes of an economic recovery for the single currency. Eurostat's industrial production data, released earlier today, shows how the volume of production from industries such as factories and manufacturing has been changing month-on-month and year-on-year. In the single currency [...]