Section: Business Insider (USA)
Russia signs up to $100 bn BRICS fund to rival IMF
Moscow (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin ratified an accord Saturday to set up a $100-billion reserve fund for the so-called BRICS — the five leading emerging economies that include Russia, China, Brazil, India and South Africa.Moscow is expected to contribute $18 billion to the reserve, well behind the $41 billion China has...
Finland sent letters to 900,000 military reservists reminding of what to do in a ‘crisis situation’
Finland’s military has sent letters to the country’s entire 900,000 strong reservist force outlining what each individual should do in the event of a “crisis situation,” Newsweek reports citing local Finnish media. The potential mobilization of 900,000 people in Finland would be a massive undertaking. With a population of...
Everything you need to know before the biggest hedge fund conference of the year kicks off next week
On Tuesday around 2,000 hedge fund managers, DC insiders, Wall Street bankers, reporters, security experts, and will.i.am will descend on the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas for an annual four day meeting of the minds. Business Insider will also be in the scrum covering the action live. It’s like this — SALT Las Vegas, an annual conference...
The 10 most important things in the world right now
Hello! Here’s what you need to know for Friday. 1. Chile’s Calbuco volcano has erupted for the third time since last week, prompting an evacuation of 2,500 people. 2. Russia may be readying for a new Ukraine offencive following a recent lull in fighting, a NATO commander said Thursday. 3. Tesla announced Thursday night that it was...
These are some of a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander’s favorite books
Admiral James Stavridis, a former leader of the US Southern Command and once the Supreme Allied Commander of NATO, has shared some of his favorite books in an interview with Marcia Desanctis from The Millions. Stavridis, who is now the dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, is a voracious reader with broad literary...
Murray eases into Munich quarter-finals
Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Top-seed Andy Murray eased his way into the quarter-finals of Munich’s ATP tournament on Thursday with a straight sets win over qualifier Mischa Zverev to begin his French Open preparations.Britain’s world number three needed just 74 minutes to enjoy a 6-2, 6-2 win over the Russian-born German qualifier,...
Russia’s central bank just slashed rates
The Russian central bank has slashed its key interest rate from 14% to 12.5% due to “signs of stabilisation in annual inflation”. Since the collapse of the oil price last year and the onset of international sanctions due to Russia’s involvement in the ongoing crisis in Ukraine the Russian central bank has been caught between the...
Russian-backed rebels are re-writing one of Ukraine’s worst massacres
Pro-Russian separatists are teaching students in southeastern Ukraine that a forced famine in the 1930’s was not a genocide but a “tragedy” that befell the entire Soviet Union, the New York Times reported. Anywhere from 3 million to 10 million Ukrainians starved to death in the the Holodomor, translated as “killing by...
Global press freedom is in bad shape
Bad news for journalists: Freedom House published its 35th annual Freedom of the Press Report today and among its chief findings was that press freedom has declined over the past year to a 10 year low. Even worse, the rate of decline accelerated drastically, with the world seeing its largest one year drop in press freedom in a decade. As of...
Gazprom net profits drop sevenfold in 2014 on ruble, Ukraine
Moscow (AFP) – Russia’s gas giant Gazprom on Wednesday reported its net profits in 2014 plunged sevenfold over the previous year, weighed down by economic sanctions and the devaluation of the ruble.The company — which was the most profitable in the world just a few years ago — reported 159 billion rubles in net profits...
