International

• Monday, April 24th 2017 - 07:05 UTC

  Euro jumps to a five-month high as French election results bring relief to investors

  

  The value of the Euro jumped to a five-month high, after the first round of voting in the French presidential election on Sunday. Results indicate that independent pro Europe pro deregulation Emmanuel Macron, and far-right Marine Le Pen are through to the final round.

• Monday, April 24th 2017 - 06:14 UTC

  Tony Blair predicts landslide for PM May, but warns 'unreasonable' Brexit policy is geared by right wing Tories

  

  Tony Blair has urged voters not to elect MPs who “back Brexit at any cost”, whichever party they are from. The ex-PM told the BBC that Brexit was a bigger issue than party allegiance for the general election on 8 June.

• Sunday, April 23rd 2017 - 06:51 UTC

  UK government recovers the £20.3bn spent bailing out Lloyds Banking Group

  

  The £20.3bn spent bailing out Lloyds Banking Group during the financial crash has been re-paid in full, UK chancellor Philip Hammond has said. Nine years after the government bought 43.4% of Lloyds, the taxpayer has now got slightly more - £20.4bn - back.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 14:15 UTC

  IMF Lagarde calls for “growth friendly fiscal policies” and warns on automation

  

  The International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde said that to get the global economy moving at a faster pace it was necessary to share the benefits of capitalism, more global regulation and more action to protect workers against automation and robots.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 14:02 UTC

  Germany and US confident an understanding on trade can be reached

  

  Recent tensions between the U.S. and other major economies over trade did not reemerge during Friday’s meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, fueling hopes global policy makers can avert an open dispute with the Trump administration over globalization, top German officials said.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 13:25 UTC

  King of Spain to UK will be rescheduled announced Madrid

  

  The King of Spain’s state visit to the UK is likely to be rescheduled after his country’s foreign minister indicated that staging it during the UK’s general election would not be appropriate. King Felipe VI, accompanied by his wife, Queen Letizia, are due to tour the UK from June 6-8 after it was announced in March that he had accepted an invitation from the Queen.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 13:16 UTC

  United Airlines PR disaster: the carrier will link pay to customer satisfaction

  

  Two weeks after a passenger was violently dragged from one its planes, United Airlines says it is to link pay more closely to customer satisfaction. The US carrier has also revealed its chief executive, Oscar Munoz, will now not become chairman, as anticipated.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 13:00 UTC

  Cruise to assess micro-plastic pollution in Spain's northern waters and sediments

  

  Researchers from the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) have started an oceanographic survey to assess micro-plastic contamination in both water and sediments off the coast of Galicia and Cantabria.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 09:35 UTC

  Falklands: Malcorra cautious about EU's position on the dispute following Brexit

  

  The European Union could reevaluate its position on the disputed Falkland Islands after Britain leaves the bloc, Argentina’s foreign minister said in Brussels, where she attended a meeting with EU negotiators on Mercosur/EU trade discussions.

• Saturday, April 22nd 2017 - 09:15 UTC

  ExxonMobil betting heavily in developing Argentina's Vaca Muerta shale gas

  

  ExxonMobil is planning to speed up investment plans for shale gas drilling in Argentina’s prized Vaca Muerta formation in the Neuquen province. Exxon will start drilling Vaca Muerta in May, by drilling horizontal wells with laterals of 2,500-3,000 meters, Neuquen province governor Omar Gutierrez said this week.