A bomb attack has killed 11 people and left 36 wounded in Istanbul, Turkey June 7, 2016 A bomb exploded in the centre of Turkey's capital city during rush hour this morning, killing two people and wounding others, according to local media reports. Istanbul's governor has said 11 people were killed in the explosion, and 36 were wounded. A Turkish police bus was the target of the bomb attack, which took place near [...]
BlackRock agrees to sell Singapore office spot to Qatar Investment Authority for $2.5bn June 6, 2016 BlackRock announced today that it had agreed to hand over the keys to an office complex in Singapore to sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority for $2.5bn (£1.7bn). Asia Square Tower 1 consists of 43-storeys of space and more than 1.25 million square feet of area that could be let out. Citibank, one of the building's most notable tenants, has been in [...]
The curious case of Swiss referendums: Tunnels and trains win the day but tax changes shot down at the polls June 6, 2016 Swiss voters rejected the much-hyped basic income proposal put to them in yesterday's referendum. More than three-quarters of voters sided with the government and campaigners who warned the proposal to give every man and woman 2,500 Swiss francs (£1,773) a month was just too expensive. The proposal was put forward by a Swiss businessman through Switzerland's form [...]
Firing up innovation in Japan: Entrepreneurship has been frowned up in Japan but a new breed of youngsters are hoping to make the country a world class technology player once again June 6, 2016 The eighties were a boom time for Japan, when the country’s high-tech innovations meant the likes of Sony, Nintendo, Mitsubishi and Toshiba were global leaders. Its technology had changed society, from the appearance of the first bullet train in 1964, to Sony’s Walkman in 1979, through to the Nintendo GameBoy in 1989. Japan’s dominance in [...]
HMRC claim it is winning the battle to crackdown on corporation tax June 6, 2016 HMRC believe that that they have turned a corner in catching companies trying to avoid paying corporation tax after subjecting large businesses “to an exceptional level of scrutiny”. Data released following a Freedom of Information Act request by UHY Hacker Young showed 15 per cent decrease in the number of high value cross border investigations [...]
French finance minister says strikes have no “substantial impact” on the economy June 5, 2016 The French finance minister, Michel Sapin, said weeks of strikes over controversial labour reform proposals would have little impact on the economy. In an interview with the business newspaper Les Echos, he said: "So far, the strikes have been partial and limited to sectors. I don't see any substantial impact on activities." Read more: French strikes spark confrontations [...]
Dollar plummets as US reports weakest jobs growth in six years, pushing back expectations of a US rate rise June 3, 2016 "Crazy". "Absolute shocker". "Unbelievable". It's safe to say US jobs growth just blew analysts' minds. Official data published today showed US employers added just 38,000 jobs last month – the lowest figure in six years, and way below the 160,000 expected. Meanwhile, earnings growth remained weak, rising just 0.2 per cent on last month, down from 0.4 [...]
Iran’s supreme leader Khamenei slams “evil” Britain and the US June 3, 2016 Iran's Supreme Leader said it would be a mistake to trust "evil" Britain and the United States. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's most powerful figure, is a hardliner. This is in contrast to centrist President Hassan Rouhani, architect of its nuclear deal with six international powers last year. Speaking during a live broadcast on state TV, Khamenei said: [...]
Never Trump and Never Clinton have gifted Libertarians an historic opportunity to realign US politics June 3, 2016 The Never Trump movement was to be expected. A true outsider breaking into the right-wing political establishment was never going to go down smoothly, and Donald Trump’s behaviour since entering the US presidential race hasn’t made his candidacy any easier a pill to swallow among Republicans. What’s truly remarkable is the recent surge in the [...]
Euro 2016: Travel chaos looms as French pilots call a strike for 11-14 June June 2, 2016 French pilots could be set to throw thousands of football fans' travel plans into chaos, after calling a strike for 11-14 June – coinciding with the start of the 2016 UEFA European Championship. Pilots working for Air France are planning to take industrial action over a pay dispute, according to union Spaf – which represents around [...]