After a dismal fourth quarter, it seems that Europe’s investment banks have got some of their swagger back. Switzerland’s UBS grew investment bank profits by more than 50 per cent in the first quarter, even though it is hard to imagine a recovery less well-suited to the Swiss bank which is short on the US exposure and the markets businesses that have driven the strong results of peers. Credit Suisse […]
By Alastair Macdonald | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European Union leaders at a Brexit summit on Saturday will give a formal undertaking to embrace the British province of Northern Ireland in the EU if a referendum unites the island, diplomats said on Friday. Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny has asked fellow members of the bloc to acknowledge that Northern Ireland would, like East Germany in 1990, automatically enter the […]
BERLIN German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Friday that Emmanuel Macron would make a “strong president” for France, throwing her weight behind the centrist favourite to win a run-off on May 7 against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen. Asked in an interview if Germany would accept future French demands that it increase its contributions to the European Union, Merkel said: “We will see. I can’t anticipate the […]
‘Demagogic’ populism does not help cause of peace. The pope invoked Egypt’s “glorious history” as an ancient cradle of civilization to argue on Friday that the delivery of a more peaceful future required a new civility that appreciated differences, resisted the violent path of close-minded absolutism and condemned extremists who camouflage terror in religious language. Continue reading the main story “An education in respectful openness and sincere […]
Violence erupted in Macedonia’s parliament as tensions between ethnic Albanian minorities and nationalists boiled over, prompting sharp rebukes from Western governments. Protesters supportive of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE party, as well as individuals clad in identity-concealing hoods, stormed parliament on Thursday night local time, violently accosting at least lawmakers and journalists. Police say the violence left 102 inside and outside parliament injured. Parliament had just managed to break […]
By Julia Fioretti | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS Power plants in the European Union will have to cut the amount of toxic pollutants they emit such as nitrogen oxides under new rules approved by EU member states on Friday and widely applauded by environmental groups. The decision imposes stricter limits on emissions of pollutants like nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, mercury and particulate matter from large combustion plants in Europe. […]
By Jacob Greaves and Kylie MacLellan | LONDON LONDON The election campaign launch of Britain’s eurosceptic UK Independence Party got off to a troubled start on Friday, when protesters accused its leader Paul Nuttall of promoting racist propaganda after he promised to ban full face veils. UKIP, whose former leader Nigel Farage helped drive support for Brexit before last year’s referendum, was once seen as a threat […]
Deutsche Bank said on Friday that it had appointed Citigroup treasurer James von Moltke as its new chief financial officer. Germany’s biggest lender has been looking for a new finance director since it announced last month that Marcus Schenck would take on a new dual role as co-head of the investment bank and joint deputy chief executive. Citi declined to comment on the news, which was first […]
Luxembourg has shared information with other countries on cases of possible tax evasion in relation to the ‘Panama Papers’, according to Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna. Gramegna, responding to a request from the EU Investigation Committee on Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA), said the exchanges took place partly spontaneously and partly at the request of other countries. The European Parliament’s so-called Panama Committee, the official […]
Barcelona said on Thursday they will make a complaint to Spanish sporting authorities over comments by Malaga’s Qatari owner Abdullah Al-Thani on Twitter describing the Catalans as “scum”. “FC Barcelona expresses its rejection and indignation at the content of the tweet published by the president of Malaga, Abdullah Al-Thani, which is counter to the principles of fair-play, ethics and legality,” said the Spanish champions in a statement. […]
Egypt is still suffering from coordinated Palm Sunday bombings of two Christian churches that killed more than 40 people, nearly killed the head of the Coptic Church and prompted President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to declare a three-month state of emergency. Continue reading the main story Francis will lend his support to the roughly 250,000 Roman Catholics in Egypt and insist on the protection of minority rights, including […]
The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and later led to the creation of both PBS and NPR, also recognized the importance of archiving public broadcasting material in the United States. It stipulated that CPB should: …Establish and maintain, or contribute to, a library and archives of noncommercial educational and cultural radio and television programs and related materials and develop […]
Yoav Galant, the Israeli construction minister, also declined to confirm the strikes but told Channel 10, “Our enemies must know: We will know to use our power to protect our interests by ourselves.” Continue reading the main story Large explosions were heard miles from the airport that serves Damascus, the Syrian capital, and the glow of flames could be seen in the distance, according to residents in […]
LONDON British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson told voters not to dismiss opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn as a harmless “mutton-headed old mugwump” but rather to see him as a serious threat to the economy and national security. In his first intervention in the campaign ahead of a snap election due on June 8, the Conservative politician argued that it would be disastrous for Britain if veteran leftist […]
By Joseph Nasr | DORTMUND, Germany DORTMUND, Germany For all its economic success, Germany has a growing problem with inequality and poverty, and yet Chancellor Angela Merkel seems to be deflecting the blame so far as the battlelines are drawn for elections in September. GRAPHIC – German income inequality tmsnrt.rs/2p3AtK4 Renowned for its highly-skilled workforce, Germany has in fact a greater proportion of working poor – people […]
European companies have been slow to capitalise on this week’s market rally — a pause in issuing new bonds that bankers do not expect to last with borrowers set to return as the spring earnings season progresses. There was no investment grade euro bond issuance from non-financial corporates last week as debt issuers sat on the sidelines ahead of the first round of the French presidential election […]
Thermal image showing thermal runaway of an 18650 cell with an implanted internal short circuiting device. Credit: Donal Finegan (UCL, NASA and NREL) How lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries behave under short-circuit conditions can now be examined using a new approach developed by a UCL-led team to help improve reliability and safety. The use of high energy density Li-ion batteries is ubiquitous – from powering portable electronics to providing […]
Netflix saw a flood of demand for a €1.3bn bond sale on Wednesday, as supply-starved junk debt investors put aside concerns around the US streaming service’s substantial cash burn to get a piece of its debut euro deal. The sub investment-grade rated company announced the deal on Monday as a €1bn 10-year bond to help fund its international expansion and planned shift to developing more original content. […]
PARIS France’s centre-right party, seeking to rebound after the defeat of its presidential candidate, said on Wednesday it could share power with Emmanuel Macron if he is elected, as pollsters predict, on May 7. Macron, a 39-year-old centrist, is tipped to comfortably win a run-off vote against far-right leader Marine Le Pen, but the political movement he created a year ago faces a huge challenge in the […]
On Saturday April 22, 2017, Expedition 51 Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of the European Space Agency photographed Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft as it approached the International Space Station. Using the station’s robotic Canadarm2, Cygnus was successfully captured by Pesquet and Commander Peggy Whitson at 6:05 a.m. EDT Saturday morning. Source link
ROME The anti-establishment 5-Star Movement, already Italy’s most popular party, is stealing a march on its divided rivals by drawing up its policy programme a year ahead of elections. With the ruling centre-left Democratic Party embroiled in a bruising leadership battle and centre-right parties unable to agree on a leader, opinion polls give 5-Star a growing lead, which one pollster last week put as high as 8 […]
By Michael Shields | ZURICH ZURICH Swiss voters look set to decide for a second time whether to impose curbs on immigration from the European Union after the cabinet proposed on Wednesday allowing a straight yes-or-no referendum on an issue that still bedevils ties with the EU. In a 2014 referendum, voters narrowly backed upper limits and quotas to reduce immigration from the EU, amid concerns that […]
By Marton Dunai | BUDAPEST BUDAPEST Anti-government protesters have filled Budapest’s streets in recent weeks, but divisions within the opposition and weak support outside the capital mean they are unlikely to herald a serious threat to Prime Minister Viktor Orban in next year’s election. Triggered by a law targeting an international school founded by liberal U.S. financier George Soros, the rallies have galvanised broader public anger against […]
Modest dress is enjoying a renaissance. Fashion brands are increasingly embracing the long-held view shared by those in region that style does not have to equate to revealing a lot of flesh. Building on the foundations of sensuality over sexuality, and demure over décolletage, the West is finally catching up with the Middle East in terms of tasteful dressing. Women in the Middle East have long expressed […]
