Britain needs an Elon Musk to revolutionise its creaking internet January 21, 2015 Cheap smartphones, discount clothing stores, budget airlines: capitalism may not be perfect, but it excels at making things once considered luxuries affordable. Rocketry startup SpaceX announced yesterday that it plans to do the same for broadband in the developing world. It’s raised $1bn (£660m) from Google and Fidelity, and plans to fill the sky with [...]
London mayor Boris Johnson agrees to pay his “outrageous” US tax bill January 21, 2015 Boris Johnson has finally coughed up for his US tax bill, despite previously refusing to meet the "absolutely outrageous" demand, and in turn risking a hefty fine or even a jail spell. Johnson, who was born in New York and holds an American passport, decided to pay up ahead of a visit to Boston, Washington [...]
ECB “mulling QE of €50bn a month” January 21, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) is said to be planning a quantitative easing (QE) programme of at least €50bn until the end of 2016, according to the Wall Street Journal. This would put the total amount of bond purchases to around €600bn a year, surpassing the market's current expectation for a programme of around €500bn. However, ECB policymakers will discuss [...]
State of the Union: Barack Obama’s populist tax hikes will hit US investment January 21, 2015 In his State of the Union Address, President Obama proposed raising the top tax rate on capital gains and dividends to 28 per cent from the current rate of 24 per cent. This is up from 15 per cent when Obama took office. Part of the increase came from a 3.8 per cent tax on [...]
Nicola Sturgeon says SNP is ready to vote on English only laws January 21, 2015 Leader of the Scottish National Party Nicola Sturgeon has said her party's MPs will vote on English only health matters. SNP parliamentarians have traditionally abstained from voting on English only issues as English MPs have no vote over a wide-range of Scottish policy decisions. Speaking to the BBC's Nick Robinson, Sturgeon said: We would be [...]
Sports Direct share price tumbles after Mike Ashley sells three per cent stake January 21, 2015 Sports Direct shares have fallen over five per cent in this morning's trading after Goldman Sachs revealed yesterday that it was selling a 2.57 per cent stake on behalf of company founder Mike Ashley. Ashley’s holding in the UK’s biggest sports retailer has been cut down to 55 per cent following the placing of 15.4m [...]
Barack Obama’s State of the Union address: “The shadow of crisis has passed” January 21, 2015 It was a triumphant moment for Barack Obama last night, when he stood up to tell his country "the shadow of crisis has passed". His closely-watched State of the Union address followed months of strong growth in the US economy – in stark contrast to its neighbours across the Atlantic. In a speech firmly designed [...]
Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley to raise £117m from Sports Direct share sale January 20, 2015 Goldman Sachs is selling up to 15.4m ordinary shares in sports retailer Sports Direct on behalf of founder and deputy executive Mike Ashley. In a statement the investment bank said it would immediately start selling the shares by way of an accelerated bookbuild to institutional investors. At today’s closing price of 751p per [...]
How, what, when, where: Everything you need to know about the ECB’s impending quantitative easing announcement January 20, 2015 When the policy committee of the European Central Bank (ECB) meet tomorrow, they're widely expected to undertake the historic decision to embark upon full-blown quantitative easing (QE) policy. The central bank has already slashed interest rates and is buying billions of euros of private sector debt. QE is the last major weapon in Draghi's arsenal [...]
Rangers: Mike Ashley ally Sandy Easdale increases stake January 20, 2015 Sandy Easdale, chairman of the Rangers football board, has increased his stake in the company to 6.45 per cent. The businessman now owns a total of 5.3m ordinary shares in Rangers International Football Club after purchasing just over 1m at a price of 1p per ordinary share on Friday. Easdale also has the [...]