Forget invasion: Putin is just four steps from victory in Ukraine February 27, 2014 AS ITS currency collapses, protests flare up in Crimea, and Russia flexes its muscles on the doorstep, those in the West claiming triumph in Ukraine should remember the story of King Pyrrhus of Epirus. In 279 BC, this scourge of the Romans managed to best them at the Battle of Asculum, but at tremendous cost. [...]
Yellen: Fed “does not have authority to supervise or regulate Bitcoin in any way” February 27, 2014 Fans of Bitcoin may be suffering from some mixed feelings. Many love the cryptocurrency as unlike fiat money, such as the US dollar, it has no central bank. But the world's most important central banker, Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen, just gave the currency a great boost. During questions Yellen has just ruled out the [...]
Warren Buffett: Markets are like sex February 26, 2014 INVESTMENT guru Warren Buffett has offered up his latest advice to would-be investors by comparing the stock market to sex. Buffett, who delivers his closely watched letter to shareholders every year, said investors should be wary of the current market rally. “A bull market is like sex. It feels best just before it ends,” he [...]
Cameron and Merkel gear up for showdown over EU treaty change February 26, 2014 DAVID Cameron is being urged to confront the tricky topic of EU negotiation in a clash with German chancellor Angela Merkel today, as the two politicians meet in London. Merkel will address parliament today before joining the Prime Minister for lunch, where she is expected to insist that while reform in Brussels is necessary, the EU [...]
Why Merkel’s EU reform shopping list isn’t enough February 26, 2014 GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in London today on an official visit that many are heralding as the start of David Cameron’s pitch to renegotiate Britain’s relationship with the EU. Unlike Francois Hollande’s trip to an Oxfordshire pub last month, when the French President said he wouldn’t support treaty change, initial reports suggest Merkel is [...]
Merkel told to abandon green subsidies February 26, 2014 Angela Merkel should abolish renewable energy subsidies due to their lack of cost-effectiveness, according to a report from the Expert Commission on Research and Innovation that will be presented to the chancellor on Wednesday. The commission took aim at the Green Renewable Energy Act (EEG), which cost €22bn (£18bn) in subsidies last year. The body [...]
Asian shares flat as investors look to Yellen testimony February 26, 2014 Asian markets are flatlining in the wake of a relatively calm day on Wall Street and a lack of significant economic data. Investors are remaining cautious ahead of Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen's testimony on Thursday. Markets will also be looking to whether the People's Bank of China will undertake further market reforms and seek [...]
Zucker-bore is set on pushing his Internet.org February 24, 2014 THE TECH geeks currently nerding it out over at the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona couldn’t believe their luck that just five days after Facebook splurged $19bn on Whatsapp, the connectivity wunderkind himself Mark Zuckerberg delivered the keynote speech last night. The Facebook chief exec showed up in his trademark jeans and T-shirt and like some [...]
Bottom Line: Zuckerberg takes centre stage in Barcelona February 23, 2014 FROM THE MWC BARCELONA ONCE a year, everyone who’s anyone in mobile undertakes a pilgrimage of sorts to Barcelona, for Mobile World Congress (MWC). Think Davos or the Sundance Film Festival but rather than politicians or movie directors, the congress draws more than 75,000 attendees from the mobile industry; executives, developers and analysts. This week [...]
What Fed chair Yellen was saying the day after Lehman went bust February 21, 2014 Back in September 2008, now Fed chair Janet Yellen attended a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee as an alternate member. That meeting came the day after Lehman Brothers went bust. Here's what she had to say: During the past several weeks, my head office and Branch directors have become decidedly more pessimistic about [...]