Japanese stocks surf higher over troubled waters June 25, 2019 Tokyo’s blue-chip Nikkei 225 stock index is riding out regional fears over China and Hong Kong as well as wider concerns regarding Iran and the US. Despite Japan’s special vulnerabilities to both East Asian tensions and higher oil prices, the index is trading higher than either a month or three months ago. This creates a [...]
Societe Generale to pay $1.3bn fine for US sanctions violations November 19, 2018 French bank Societe Generale has agreed to pay US authorities $1.3bn (£1bn) to resolve allegations it violated US sanctions on Cuba, Iran and other countries. US authorities said the bank processed billions of dollars in illegal transactions to parties in countries under US sanction, including Iran, Sudan, Cuba and Libya. Societe Generale said the penalties would [...]
Republicans have no clue how to handle their deranged ‘Messiah’ August 23, 2019 Imagine you are a serious US politician. What do you do when the man your party put in the White House tries to buy another country’s territory, before repeating claims that he is like the “King of Israel” and boasting that he is “the Chosen One”, all within the space of two days? The obvious [...]
Is oil’s relationship with energy stocks slipping? October 21, 2019 Our chart of the month shows that the link between energy stocks and oil appears to be on the slide. What’s happening? Typically, the US energy sector trades in tandem with oil prices. The sector is largely made up of household names like Exxon and Chevron, involved in exploration and production. They are known as [...]
Huawei chair calls for speedy resolution of case against its detained executive January 22, 2019 The chairman of Chinese tech company Huawei said the company will call for a speedy resolution of the case of its detained chief financial officer who is being held in Canada accused of breaking US sanctions on Iran. Liang Hua, who has been appointed as acting chief financial officer, was speaking to media on the [...]
Liberalism is not dead, but it is far sicker than you realise July 15, 2019 Vladimir Putin declared liberalism obsolete
Oil prices give back gains after hitting 2019 highs after Opec cuts continue to bite March 19, 2019 The price of oil was flat last night after giving back gains which saw it reach a four-month high earlier in the day. International standard Brent Crude was hovering around $67.5 per barrel in the early evening, largely unchanged. Read more: Venezuela looks to Russia for oil exports as US sanctions bite However, the price reached as high [...]
Trump was brave to leave North Korea empty-handed March 7, 2019 He came he saw, he left empty-handed. For the self-proclaimed consummate deal-maker that is President Donald Trump, it would not be an understatement to say that last week’s second summit with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un on North Korea’s prospective denuclearisation did not go quite according to plan. Trump’s gamble had been that his personal rapport with [...]
Saudi oil output reaches record highs, but oil prices remain close to four-year peak October 3, 2018 Saudi Arabia's oil output has reached record highs – and the country could further boost production next month as US sanctions on Iran edge closer. Saudi energy minister Khalid al-Falih said the country had raised output to 10.7m barrels per day in October and announced a further production hike in November. The country's record high [...]
Two Huawei workers expelled from Denmark after immigration inspection February 4, 2019 Two members of staff at beleaguered telecoms firm Huawei have been expelled from Denmark after a police inspection showed they did not have the correct immigration paperwork. Copenhagen police charged four members of staff following an inspection at the firm’s offices on Thursday for failing to supply the necessary work and residency permits. Read more: Vodafone [...]