Several British banks said on Friday they had stopped dealing in Qatari riyals, as the diplomatic crisis surrounding the tiny Gulf country disrupted overseas trading of its currency. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt severed diplomatic and travel links with Qatar on June 5, accusing it of supporting terrorism and courting regional […]
Read more
BUSINESS travellers, you can rest easy. Or, rather, you can forget about resting easy and continue to work through your flight. The anticipated expansion of a ban on laptops and other portable electronics devices in carry-on bags on flights to America is not coming to pass. Instead, you might be facing longer lines in airports […]
Read moreEuro zone inflation eased in June because of more moderate energy price rises, but the slowdown was less than expected by markets and the core measure of price growth the ECB keenly watches increased by more than anticipated. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat estimated that consumer prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro […]
Read moreThe U.S. Federal Reserve should defer on its rate hike agenda until concrete reforms emerge from Washington, according to one of its key policy makers. James Bullard, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve, told CNBC Friday that weak data has undermined the Fed’s hawkish stance and the central bank should take a more reactionary […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
UK Prime Minister May survives first test as government legislation passed
British Prime Minister Theresa May‘s Conservative minority government secured lawmakers’ backing for its legislative plans by a narrow margin Thursday, but only after making a sudden concession on abortion funding to stave off defeat. The House of Commons voted by 323 to 309 to approve last week’s Queen’s Speech, which laid out the government’s agenda […]
Read more
Adrian Wooldridge, who wrote the Schumpeter column from its inception until the end of last year, won the commentary category at the 2017 Gerald Loeb awards in New York. Anton La Guardia, Edward McBride, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Chris Lockwood, Nick Pelham and Henry Tricks won the breaking-news category for their exclusive on Saudi Arabia’s plans […]
Read more
NESTLÉ is not easily rattled, to some investors’ chagrin. The world’s biggest food company accounts for about half of all sales of instant coffee, not to mention one quarter of grub for babies, dogs and cats. Thirty-four of its brands, including KitKat and Nespresso, earn over $1bn each. Yet many investors complain that Nestlé is […]
Read more
CONGLOMERATES sometimes sell their least promising units, thereby ginning up returns for the remaining empire. But groups saddled with huge debts do not have that luxury; only by disposing of the most profitable parts can they raise enough funds to satisfy creditors. Such is the story of the Essar Group, which is in the final […]
Read more
APPLE has a new hit device, so popular that it has sold out across most of America and Britain. If you order it online it takes six weeks to arrive. “Best Apple product in a long time,” sings one online review. Useful and (of course) slickly designed, it enjoys the highest consumer satisfaction of any […]
Read more
THE IMF, claims Pakistan’s government, is surplus to requirements. Ministers in its business-minded ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), boast of a record that means the country can pay its own bills. “We will not go back to the IMF programme,” declared Ishaq Dar, the finance minister, in May, almost a year after the […]
Read more