March 2, 2017 by: Nic Fildes, Telecoms Correspondent Deutsche Telekom has taken a €2.2bn charge on its investment in BT, pushing the German group to a fourth-quarter loss in 2016. Europe’s largest telecoms company blamed the Brexit vote, a decline in the value of sterling and the collapse in BT’s share price for the write-off. It holds a 12 per cent stake in BT which has been […]
On Wednesday, Jean-Claude Juncker’s European Commission released a “White Paper On the Future Of Europe” which comes at a time of extensive tensions with the departing UK, and which lays out what Juncker believe are the “main challenges and opportunities for Europe inthe coming decade.” It presents five scenarios for how the Union couldevolve by 2025 depending on how it chooses to respond. The paper comes as […]
By Christian Shepherd | BEIJING BEIJING Chinese state media said on Thursday that a prominent Chinese rights activist had made up “fake news” of torture to grab international headlines, but his defenders said the accusations were a coordinated attempt to smear his name. State media said disbarred lawyer Jiang Tianyong, 46, was behind news reports of police torturing another detained rights activist, Xie Yang, and that Jiang […]
TOKYO Asian shares rose on Thursday as investors were encouraged by President Donald Trump’s measured tone in his first speech to Congress, which sent Wall Street stocks sharply higher, while growing bets on a U.S. rate hike this month buoyed the dollar. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 0.2 percent, led by rebound in Australian shares . Japan’s Nikkei .N225 rose 1.3 percent […]
Cheung Kong Infrastructure and Fosun International are among several Asian groups that have submitted bids for Q-Park, one of Europe’s largest parking lot operators, in a deal that could fetch more than $2.4bn. China Oceanwide, a Beijing-based conglomerate owned by a billionaire banking magnate, and Shougang Group, a state-owned Chinese steel company, also joined the first round of bidding on the Netherlands-based parking group, two people familiar […]
Address Hotels + Resorts, the premium luxury hotel brand of Emaar Hospitality Group, on Wednesday unveiled its new city lifestyle resort, Address Boulevard. Address Boulevard has 196 rooms including 116 deluxe rooms, 44 deluxe club Rooms, 28 one-bedroom suites, seven two-bedroom suites and a luxurious Presidential Suite. In addition, there are 532 serviced apartments including duplexes and two penthouses, with short-term guests at the residences also guaranteed […]
A storming start for risk assets has defined the first two months of 2017, with heightened optimism on Wall Street pushing the FTSE All-World equity index into record territory. Whether the rally can be sustained in March depends on the outcome of several key events. Here is a rundown of what looms for investors during the month. US jobs data and the Federal Reserve The bullish sentiment […]
By Francesco Guarascio and Alastair Macdonald | BRUSSELS BRUSSELS European Union leaders have been told to be ready for a Brexit summit at the end of the first week of April, EU sources said on Wednesday, although the final date will depend on British Prime Minister Theresa May. A summit of the other 27 national leaders to respond to May’s formal notification of Britain’s departure appears in […]
By Thomas Escritt | AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Hit by sliding poll numbers, Dutch nationalist Geert Wilders said he would resume his campaign this weekend after revelations of leaks from his police protection prompted him to halt all public appearances ahead this month’s election. Wednesday’s announcement follows the Dutch government’s decision to give a different squad the task of protecting the outspoken opponent of Islam, who has lived under […]
Wednesday 16:30 GMT Overview Wall Street surged to another record as comments from Federal Reserve officials caused traders to boost their bets for an increase in US interest rates this month and investors celebrated a more upbeat tone from Donald Trump in his first address to Congress. In keeping with he risk-on mood that washed across financial markets around the globe, the dollar also rose and gold […]
VILNIUS German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on Wednesday there had hardly been any progress in implementing the Minsk peace agreement for eastern Ukraine, which meant no lifting of sanctions against Russia was in sight. Speaking during a joint news conference with Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius, Gabriel also said he opposed any move to return the European Union to being just a single market. EU chief […]
By Ben Stupples The chairman of the EU’s Panama Papers inquiry has slammed the U.K. Treasury’s refusal to meet with investigators, raising concern over Britain’s commitment to the high-level investigation. It was “most disappointing and regrettable that no one at the political level at HM Treasury was able or willing to meet” during the trip to London last week from the European Parliament’s Panama Papers inquiry committee, […]
OSLO Norway has not violated the human rights of mass killer Anders Behring Breivik despite his charges of abuse since he was jailed for massacring 77 people in 2011, an appeals court ruled on Wednesday. The Borgarting appeals court overturned a 2016 verdict by a lower Oslo court that Breivik’s near-isolation in a three-room cell amounted to “inhuman and degrading treatment” under the European Convention on Human […]
DUBAI // Sophie Shams, 17, is one of the few Emiratis playing touch rugby. The Dubai College schoolgirl, who plays for a team outside of school, serves as an inspiration not just for UAE nationals but for girls of all nationalities. “Touch is one of the few sports that mixes talent from both sexes, forcing everyone on the pitch to constantly push themselves to higher limits,” she […]
Wednesday 09:30 GMT Overview The dollar and government bond yields are jumping, and gold is falling, as hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials cause traders to drastically shorten the odds of an increase in US interest rates this month. Meanwhile, US equity index futures point to another record on Wall Street, tracking gains in Europe and Asia, after Donald Trump addressed Congress for the first time, with […]
TALLIN German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel told reporters in Estonia on Wednesday that NATO had not agreed on every nation in the alliance having to meet a rigid target of spending 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defence. “I have a concern that politicians make public promises that they can’t fulfil later on,” Gabriel said. He said that NATO had merely agreed that member nations […]
By Matt Spetalnick | WASHINGTON WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Tuesday reaffirmed support for the United States’ longstanding security alliances around the world but insisted that friends and partners from Europe to the Middle East to the Pacific must “pay their fair share of the cost.” In his first nationally televised speech to Congress since taking office on January 20, Trump sought to reassure allies still uneasy […]
By Andrea Shalal and Ece Toksabay | BERLIN/ANKARA BERLIN/ANKARA Berlin summoned Ankara’s ambassador on Tuesday to protest the arrest in Turkey of a correspondent for a German newspaper, further fuelling tensions between the two NATO allies as demonstrations took place across German-speaking Europe. Deniz Yucel, a German-Turkish dual national with Die Welt, faces up to 10-1/2 years in prison after being arrested on charges of propaganda in […]
Europe 17:03 28.02.2017Get short URL The European Parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties committees passed the EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive, February 27, by 89 votes to 1, with 4 abstentions. It allows for EU citizens to access registers of beneficial owners of companies and trusts — effectively revealing the identity of the ultimate owner. With full public beneficial ownership information law enforcement agencies, journalists, and citizens will be able to better detect and deter the […]
With US stock markets hitting record highs last week, the question has to be asked. Has the Trump reflation trade — long in equities, short in bonds — run its course? In the equity market it has been a crowded trade for quite some time. On the bond side, futures market data are telling us that there are exceptionally large speculative bear positions in the market. This […]
Tuesday 12:30 GMT Overview Global stocks are finishing a positive month on a mixed note as traders appear cautious about making fresh bold bets ahead of Donald Trump’s speech to a joint sitting of the US Congress later on Tuesday. The dollar is fairly steady, while gains for perceived haven assets such as Treasuries and the Japanese yen speak to the underlying tentative tone. Hot topic The […]
By Thomas Escritt | AMSTERDAM AMSTERDAM Since the evening in 2004 when policemen arrived unannounced to escort him and his wife to safety, Geert Wilders has lived in safe houses under 24-hour guard to protect him from Islamist militants who threatened to kill him. Film-maker Theo van Gogh had been shot, stabbed and nearly beheaded by a militant Islamist earlier that day, and Wilders, another prominent critic […]
New smartphones will use AI to carry out tasks The smartphone revolution is poised to go onto the next level—with “superphones” equipped with artificial intelligence now on the horizon. By learning their owners’ habits, these new phones will be able to carry out tasks even when they’re offline. During a first phase only high-end smartphones will use the technology, like the new models unveiled by China’s […]
Kim Smith was not given terms and conditions when her employer offered her a fitness tracker last year. The 27-year-old, who holds a junior position in a big media company, entered data such as how much water she drank and her weight on the GPS-enabled device. The number of steps she — and her colleagues who joined the programme — took each day were recorded on a […]
