European Union leaders meet next month in Brussels to try to agree a first post-Brexit longterm budget, with divisions over proposed cuts that could undermine defence and climate change ambitions. European Council President Charles Michel on Saturday (25 January) invited the heads of state and government of the bloc’s 27 member nations to an exceptional summit on 20 February. Any further delay might jeopardise both current programmes and policies and the launch of new ones, he said. “I am fully aware that these negotiations are among the most difficult ones…
Read MoreMonth: January 2020
Ferrero CEO dividend of £ 542 million under tax obligation
Giovanni Ferrero, scion of the Italian chocolate empire that makes Kinder Surprise, Nutella and Ferrero Rocher, is paying himself and his family a €642m (£542m) dividend in one of Europe’s biggest-ever paydays. The huge annual dividend payment comes as the company paid just £110,000 tax in the UK last year, despite selling £419m worth of chocolates and other snacks in Britain. Ferrero, who is Italy’s richest man with a €29bn (£24bn) fortune, has paid himself and his family more than €2bn in dividends over the past decade. Over the same…
Read More‘Historical moment’: Boris Johnson signs Brexit withdrawal deal
Boris Johnson has formally signed the EU withdrawal agreement, smiling as he described it as a “fantastic moment” for the country. His enthusiasm came in sharp contrast to the sombre tone of EU officials, who earlier added their signatures to the document before it crossed the Channel. With a week before the deadline of 31 January, the agreement is now concluded and talks are due to begin over the future relationship between the UK and Brussels. Johnson said the document’s signing, which took place in Downing Street, would end years…
Read MoreIrish Prime Minister is ready to enter into a big coalition with the main rival
Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said for the first time on Wednesday (22 January) that he would consider entering an unprecedented coalition government with the country’s second-largest party and historic rival Fianna Fáil (affiliated to Renew Europe) after next month’s election. Varadkar’s Fine Gael party (EPP-affiliated) trails its fellow centre-right rival in opinion polls that suggest whichever party finishes on top on 8 February would struggle to form a coalition government with a collection of smaller parties. As both refuse to govern with the country’s third-largest party, Sinn Féin (GUE-NGL),…
Read MoreGriezmann the party pooper in Ibiza as late double spares Barcelona blushes
Antoine Griezmann struck two late goals as Barcelona came from behind to beat third-tier UD Ibiza 2-1 and avoid an embarrassing Copa del Rey last-32 exit. Javi Pérez put Ibiza ahead at the Can Misses municipal stadium after nine minutes and the hosts had a second goal disallowed before Raí Nascimento hit the post with Barcelona floundering. Quique Setién’s side dominated the ball, as they did on the coach’s debut against Granada last weekend, but failed to create chances until Griezmann fired home in the 72nd minute. The French forward…
Read MoreChina has blocked a city with a population of 11 million at the epicenter of the outbreak of the virus
China is putting on lockdown a city of 11 million people considered the epicenter of a new coronavirus outbreak that has killed 17 and infected nearly 600, as health authorities around the world scramble to prevent a global pandemic. Health officials fear the transmission rate will accelerate as hundreds of millions of Chinese travel at home and abroad during week-long holidays for Lunar New Year, which begins on Saturday (25 January). The previously unknown virus strain is believed to have emerged late last year from illegally traded wildlife at an…
Read MoreSpain announces the increase of the minimum wage by 5.5% as a “tool” to combat inequality
Spain’s new government on Wednesday (22 January) announced a 5.5% rise in the minimum wage retroactive to 1 January, the third major economic initiative the left-wing coalition has announced since taking office this month. The government’s move is part of a plan to boost the net minimum wage to 60% of the average monthly pay packet of €1,944 by the end of its four-year term. “I want to announce that we are a strong government, that we are heeding the mandate of a social majority that wants us to move…
Read MoreRussia gets a new government in what Putin calls a “major upgrade”
Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a new government on Tuesday (22 January) which he described as a break with the past, bringing in some fresh faces but retaining many senior ministers. The new government included a new economy minister and a new first deputy prime minister, but the finance, foreign, defense, energy and agriculture ministers all kept their jobs. The new team was formed less than a week after Putin unveiled a sweeping shake-up of the political system, which led to the resignation of his ally Dmitry Medvedev as prime…
Read MoreCapitalism has seen “more harm than good” in a global survey
A majority of people around the world believe capitalism in its current form is doing more harm than good, a survey found ahead of this week’s Davos meeting of business and political leaders. This year was the first time the “Edelman Trust Barometer”, which for two decades has polled tens of thousands of people on their trust in core institutions, sought to understand how capitalism itself was viewed. The study’s authors said that earlier surveys showing a rising sense of inequality prompted them to ask whether citizens were now starting…
Read MoreChina is loosing the bid for GV Gold, Kenes Rakishev and Sergey Trotsenko remain on track
Fosun Investment company tries hard to bargain some of the Russian gold mining company. But something makes their approaches ineffective. It seems that the quest for GV Gold mining company is just the latter addition to the previously failed attempts. With gold price rising month after month and the precious metals returning as a full-fledged reserve currency the competition for major mining operations rise. GV Gold – a full-cycle gold mining company is up for sale. And the race is tight, Talk Finance points out. Not everyone is still on…
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