Panama Papers scandal: Law firm Mossack Fonseca Panama offices raided April 13, 2016 The Panama office of the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal has been raided by the authorities, it was revealed in the early hours of this morning. Panama's attorney general's office issued a statement revealing that it had carried out a raid on Mossack Fonseca's office to search for evidence of [...]
Russia back on the map with investors after two year hiatus, Credit Suisse banker says April 11, 2016 Investors are starting to look at Russia again after cutting off exposure amid geopolitical tensions two years ago, the head of Credit Suisse's $60m (£42m) Russian Equity Fund said. There are no big inflows yet but a rebound in Russian stock markets in the past few months as the oil price and the rouble have [...]
Tourist boom putting pressure on Cuba’s beer industry April 10, 2016 The influx of American tourists into Cuba may have worked wonders for its travel and leisure industry, but the boom has taken a toll on the country’s main brewer. In recent weeks beer sellers have been running out of the Caribbean island’s two favourite brands, Cristal and Bucanero. The shortages have been fuelled by the increase [...]
Bondholders in Austrian ‘bad bank’ Heta hit by significant haircut April 10, 2016 Creditors in Austrian “bad bank” Heta Asset Resolution will receive less than half of their money back according to the country’s financial regulator, the FMA. An FMA statement outlined that senior bondholders could expect to receive at least 46c/€ which would be paid from the realisation of assets by 2020 – and said that this [...]
Panama Papers scandal: Mossack Fonseca says it is still waiting for a call from the taxman April 10, 2016 Ramon Fonseca, the founding partner of the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers scandal, is showing the world that you're never too well known to find yourself sat by the phone, waiting for it to ring. The founding partner of Mossack Fonseca said in an interview on Saturday that his firm is still yet to [...]
China plans to keep its steel exports at high levels April 9, 2016 China indicated it will keep pumping out high levels of steel in the future, as the world's second largest economy is coming under fire for its part in the UK steel crisis. Luo Tiejun, the vice head of the raw materials department at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), said today that if [...]
Panama Papers prompt US Treasury Department to speed up rule change of bank treatment of company ownership April 7, 2016 The leak of more than 11m files from a Panama-headquartered law firm which implicated various household names in offshore tax dealings has prompted the US government to hurry through a rule change on how banks treat company ownership, it was revealed early this morning. On Sunday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) published its Panama Papers report [...]
Venezuela declares every Friday a holiday as energy crisis bites April 7, 2016 Venezuela has declared that every Friday for the next two months will be a holiday. In a televised speech last night, Venezuela's president Nicolas Maduro said: "We'll have long weekends." While your typical workers probably dreams of a four-day working week, more time off for Venezuelans is actually the result of a crippling energy crisis. Read more: Socialism has created [...]
Why China wants to blast crude oil into space April 6, 2016 China will blast crude oil into space next week, to learn more about oil reservoirs lying tens of thousands of feet beneath the earth's surface. The experiment will look at how molecules in oil redistribute under intense pressures and uneven temperatures. Researchers want to sharpen their understanding of deep crude oil reservoirs up to eight kilometres underground. Read more: UK space industry to [...]
US Presidental Election: Donald Trump suffers big defeat at the hands of Ted Cruz in Wisconsin as Bernie Sanders takes state ahead of Hillary Clinton April 6, 2016 Controversial Republican hopeful Donald Trump has suffered a heavy blow after rival Ted Cruz won the Wisconsin primary overwhelmingly. While Trump remains the frontrunner, the development means the Republican establishment will be more likely to be able to block his nomination. If Trump does not get half of the required delegates before the Republican national [...]