The European Union needs reforming, not abandoning
Jonathan Freedland (Opinion, 10 October) is right to warn that a “remain” vote in the forthcoming EU referendum is by no means a foregone conclusion, not least because some will doubtless use it as an opportunity to show two fingers…
Seven reasons the world’s stock markets are falling
European markets are in panic mode with all major indices down sharply. It follows a widespread sell-off on both sides of the Atlantic on Wednesday. Here are seven reasons why investors are so nervous: Fears of a global slowdown led…
Günter Grass: final interview reveals author’s fears of another world war
Germany’s Nobel-winning author Günter Grass said he feared humanity was “sleepwalking” into a world war in the last interview he gave before his death on Monday. “We have on the one side Ukraine, whose situation is not improving; in Israel…
Europe’s plan for alternative pipeline faces big problems
With its vast underground storage tanks and network of pipes, valves and tubes, Baumgarten in the flatlands east of Vienna is one of Europe’s biggest gas hubs. The first gas to cross the iron curtain was pumped through thousands of…
Modern cargo ships slow to the speed of the sailing clippers
The world’s largest cargo ships are travelling at lower speeds today than sailing clippers such as the Cutty Sark did more than 130 years ago. A combination of the recession and growing awareness in the shipping industry about climate change…
Global ranking on corruption and justice aims to promote good governance
The World Justice Project (WJP) says that its Rule of Law Index, which ranks 102 countries, is the most comprehensive of its kind and the only one to rely on primary data. The scores are based on responses from 1,000…
Britain flying high as top of Europe for private jets
The increasing numbers of the UK-based super-rich are sending ownership levels of private jets soaring to all-time highs. More corporate jets have been delivered to Britain in the past five years than to any other European country, according to a…
Car manufacturing hits reverse gear
UK car manufacturing went into reverse in August as factories closed for the summer holidays. A total of 71,065 cars rolled off production lines last month, 22% less than the 91,282 cars built in August 2013, according to the Society…
South Sudan to export coffee for the first time
The world has long been pleading with South Sudan’s feuding leaders to wake up and smell the coffee. The four-year-old country is notorious for conflict and oil but less well known for a coffee farming industry that was wiped out…
United Airlines will honour flight tickets mistakenly sold for $5 to $10
United Airlines will honour plane tickets it mistakenly sold online for between $5 and $10, the company said on Friday. Customers using the airline’s website were able to book tickets without paying airline fares – just airport and security fees…
Wall Street still sees itself as its own best client. Can that ever be remedied?
Imagine, if you can, a world in which the big banks subscribe to a code of conduct that includes a pledge that “we seek no more than a level of profit commensurate with the value we create for our customers”….