Meal delivery service Marley Spoon plans US expansion with €15m Series B funding March 14, 2016 Meal delivery service Marley Spoon has raised €15m (£11.6m) in its Series B funding round, which it aims to use for the launch of its west coast US fulfilment operations. The company, which provides customers with recipes and seasonal ingredients, in exact quantities, to cook at home, has also secured up to €40m in media [...]
Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union suffers setback in state elections, as anti-immigration party Alternative for Germany gains a number of seats March 13, 2016 German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party were left disappointed this evening, after the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party gained a surge of new voters in the state elections. Based on exit polls, AfD managed to obtain seats in all three of the state assemblies – Saxony-Anhalt, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Wurttemberg – holding an election [...]
Chinese investments into Europe and United States reach record high in 2015 – but UK levels dip 35 per cent March 10, 2016 Chinese investment into Europe hit record levels last year – but dipped in the UK, according to a new report. Foreign direct investment (FDI) from China totalled $23bn (£16bn) in Europe in 2015, according to Baker & McKenzie research. On the other side of the Atlantic, last year marked a record for Chinese FDI into [...]
First US shale gas shipment heads to Europe amid price war risk March 10, 2016 The first shipment of US shale gas earmarked for Europe left its terminal today, as analysts warn it could spark a price war with market leader Russia. Chemical company Ineos said one of its ships carrying liquefied natural gas had embarked on the 3,600 mile journey from Philadelphia to a purpose built storage tank in Norway. Jim Ratcliffe, chairman [...]
Hyperloop is coming to Europe as Slovakia plans to reduce travel from Bratislava to Vienna and Budapest to less than 10 minutes March 10, 2016 The most exciting transport innovation in the world right now – Elon Musk's ambitious Hyperloop – is coming to Europe and could create the fastest ever cross-border travel. A Hyperloop company has inked a deal with the government of Slovakia to explore bringing the super-fast transport to this side of the pond, potentially connecting Bratislava with Vienna in Austria and Budapest in Hungary [...]
Will the European Central Bank do more harm than good today if it sends rates further into negative territory? March 10, 2016 Simon French, chief economist at Panmure Gordon, says Yes. A further cut to the ECB’s deposit rate should trigger a weaker euro, asset price increases and greater borrowing by firms and households. However, financial markets rarely behave rationally and such policy moves are not made in a vacuum. The ECB remains locked in battle with [...]
Star investor Jim Rogers predicts US recession within a year March 4, 2016 One well-known investor has said that he thinks there's a 100 per cent probability of the US economy sliding into recession within one year. Jim Rogers, the chairman on Rogers Holdings, told Bloomberg TV: "It's been seven years since we had the last recession in the US, and normally, historically we have them every four to seven [...]
Prime Minister David Cameron pledges £17m to France to deal with migrant crisis in Calais at press conference with French President Francois Hollande March 3, 2016 Prime Minister David Cameron has pledged to give France another £17m to deal with the migrant crisis in Calais. In a joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande today, Cameron said that the money would be used to help move people from the refugee camps in Calais to other migrant facilities in France. "If they [...]
France and Britain agree to invest £1.5bn on a drone project as they ramp up security ties March 3, 2016 France and the United Kingdom have sealed a £1.5bn deal to build a next-generation drone prototype as the two countries attempt to bolster security and military ties. The two allies announced they would spend the money developing next-generation ties at a French-Anglo summit in France, the first deal of its type since the tragic Paris attacks that [...]
EU referendum: France’s economy minister Emmanuel Macron says that Brexit could lead to Calais border moving migrant camp from France to UK March 3, 2016 If the UK votes to leave the European Union border controls at Calais could be dropped, allowing migrants to stream across the English Channel, France's economy minister Emmanuel Macron has warned. He said that if the UK votes for Brexit, France could drop the Le Touquet agreement it has with the UK that allows the [...]