IMF warns that “overvalued” pound is detrimental to economy July 28, 2014 Today, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that the pound is “overvalued”, and that this is causing the economy to rely too heavily on spending and imports. In its annual assessment of the UK economy, it said that the sterling is between five and ten per cent overvalued, and that it has strengthened by [...]
Why did the dinosaurs go extinct? Bad timing, scientists say July 28, 2014 It wasn't just the impact of an asteroid thundering down to Earth that wiped dinosaurs off the face of the planet: their extinction was the result of a longer chain of events, according to new research. There are several theories about how the prehistoric creatures met their abrupt end 66 million years ago, [...]
Emirates stops flights over Iraq following MH17 crash July 28, 2014 Emirates Airline has said that it is stopping flights over Iraq because of Islamic militants on the ground. In an interview with the BBC, it said that was taking “precautionary measures” and "working on alternative routing plans for flights using Iraqi airspace". The decision was made following the crash of Malaysian Airlines flight [...]
Google search terms can be used to predict market crashes July 28, 2014 Search data could be used to identify the warning signs of an imminent stock market crash, according to researchers from Warwick Business School and Boston University. In a study called “Quantifying the semantics of search behaviour before stock market moves”, they show that a rise in certain terms put into Google correlates with a [...]
Lloyds fined £226m by UK and US regulators for Libor manipulation July 28, 2014 Lloyds has become the latest bank to be fined for manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor). The benchmark interest rate determines the cost of a range of credit products which have a combined value of at least $350tn, but a number of banks have been charged with unlawfully tampering with it in order [...]
US lawsuit says banks rigged the price of silver July 27, 2014 HSBC, Deutsche Bank and the Bank of Nova Scotia have been accused of rigging the price of silver. According to J Scott Nicholson, an investor who filed a lawsuit against them in the US, the banks abused their position of controlling the daily silver benchmark by unlawfully manipulating it to reap illegitimate rewards from trading. [...]
GSK says separate consumer business is possible July 27, 2014 The chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline has said that he is open to the idea of creating a breakaway consumer healthcare business, the FT reports. Sir Andrew Witty said that a breakup of the group would be reasonable if a time came when a standalone consumer business offered more value. He said that his [...]
Who won the 2014 Tour de France? Italy’s Vincenzo Nibali July 27, 2014 Italy's Vincenzo Nibali was named the winner of the 101st Tour de France today, after finishing first in the final stage on the Champs-Elysees in Paris. The 29-year-old from Sicily took the lead in Sheffield during the second stage, and from that moment on dominated the competition, wearing the race leader's yellow jersey for [...]
UK company profit warnings at three year high, says report July 27, 2014 The number of profit warnings issued by FTSE 100 companies was at a three-year high in the first quarter, according to a report by Ernst & Young. In its quarterly Analysis of UK Profit Warnings report, the consultancy firm revealed that companies listed on the London Stock Exchange issued a total of 74 warnings [...]
HSBC among banks accused of manipulating price of silver July 27, 2014 HSBC, Deutsche Bank and the Bank of Nova Scotia have been accused of rigging the price of silver. According to J Scott Nicholson, an investor who filed a lawsuit against them in the US, the banks abused their position of controlling the daily silver benchmark by unlawfully manipulating it to reap illegitimate rewards from [...]
