Portugal’s anti-austerity government led by Socialist PM Antonio Costa sworn in after tumultuous period November 26, 2015 After eight tumultuous weeks of political upheaval, Portugal’s anti-austerity left took power yesterday, marking a pivotal moment for the eurozone as Germany’s firm grip on economy policy is broken. The country’s new Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa has sworn to end austerity for the country, saying on Thursday that the new government’s programme was “a [...]
Both shoppers and workers back Sunday trading reform: It’s an historic opportunity to help save the high street March 9, 2016 Today, MPs have an important chance to shape the future of our high streets. In the first major opportunity of its kind since 1994, the House of Commons will vote on Sunday trading reform, which could ultimately extend Sunday opening hours and allow consumers more time to shop. High streets all over the country are [...]
Business groups welcome Transport for London’s budget and business plan while Zac Goldsmith says it shows Sadiq Khan’s policy would leave London transport with £1.9bn black hole March 15, 2016 Business groups have welcomed the new budget and business plan from Transport for London, which set out improvements including the continuing construction of Crossrail. The budget plan also outlined developments including extensions and modernisations to a number of Tube lines and reasserted the importance of the Night Tube, as well as drawing attention to a range of road improvements that [...]
Gianni Infantino’s victory means little – Fifa has shown few signs of cleaning up February 27, 2016 If you believe the hype out of Zurich, you’d think that Fifa has turned the corner. The ‘bad guys’ are gone. There’s new management. And Fifa has had a Damascene conversion to good governance, transparency and accountability. Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. The overwhelming emotion for many when Gianni Infantino won the ‘beauty contest’ of the Presidential [...]
Catalonia votes to move forward with independence November 9, 2015 Catalonia's regional assembly has begun an 18-month countdown that could see it break away from Spain. The declaration won backing from a majority in the regional parliament. The resolution read: "The Catalan parliament will adopt the necessary measures to start this democratic process of massive, sustained and peaceful disconnection from the Spanish state." The latest [...]
From robots in Japan to crashing sentiment in Latin America, what are the risks and opportunities for investors this year? March 23, 2016 Every year, we ask our credit and equity analysts at Fidelity International about the health, growth prospects, and challenges facing the companies they research worldwide. The results of our 2016 Analyst Survey are in, showing a maturing cycle in which growth is becoming scarcer. For investors, this means understanding who will be the winners and [...]
Forget Boris for Brexit: Why the real story is that David Cameron’s EU deal isn’t legally binding February 23, 2016 Boris Johnson sells papers. So for political hacks who view everything through the prism of party politics, both his divergence from David Cameron over the EU and the prospect of a future leadership run are understandably exciting. But in focusing so much on him, journalists are missing a far more important story which could influence [...]
European Stability Mechanism grants Greece another billion euros, taking total bailout so far to €21.4bn December 22, 2015 Greece has been granted a further €1bn (£740m) today, the Eurozone's bailout manager said. The European Stability Mechanism's (ESM) approval of the payment rounds off the first tranche of bailout cash for Greece after it agreed a new rescue package in August. Greece's government will be able to use the cash for "debt service, budget financing, and [...]
Saving Britain’s charities: The role of the finance function February 18, 2016 It is something of an understatement to say that it hasn’t been a great few months for the charity sector. Public patience with so-called “chuggers” who look to solicit donations from passers-by on the street has long been wearing thin. As an isolated practice, it seemed the public were just about able to bear it given [...]
Greece and Eurogroup strike deal on €12bn slice of bailout cash November 17, 2015 Greece has struck a deal with its creditors to unlock €12bn (£8.4bn) to the country, its finance minister announced today. “We have reached agreement on everything, including the 48 additional measures,” finance minister Euclid Tsakalotos told reporters. The funds are expected to paid out on Friday. Jeroen Dijsselbloem, president of the group of Eurozone finance [...]