
By Andrew Rosindell (*) - The No vote in the Scottish referendum has kept the Union together, for now. I fear however, that the issue has not gone away. We must act soon and take this opportunity to secure the future of the United Kingdom.

Standard Chartered will close up to 100 bank branches next year in Asia, Africa and the Middle East in an attempt to improve its profitability. The UK bank plans to cut about 8% of its global network of more than 1,200 branches to save $400m (£251m) a year.

West Texas Intermediate, WTI crude closed at a three-year low on Wednesday with prices under pressure from the growing oil glut created by the U.S. shale boom and the restart of Libya's largest operational oilfield.

An Argentine congressman has extended an open invitation to two, three 'inhabitants of the Falkland Islands', to participate in a meeting with Argentine lawmakers interested in listening to the 'third party' in the Falklands/Malvinas dispute.

The second-oldest vessel in the Naval Service, veteran tanker RFA Black Rover, a well known presence in the Falkland Islands, has completed her penultimate deployment, a marathon of 17 months in the Atlantic. No Royal Navy vessel can carry out a patrol in the Southern Hemisphere without the support of a Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker – a duty performed in recent years by a Rover-class vessel.

Transocean Ltd, the owner of the world's largest offshore drilling fleet, said it was likely to retire additional rigs as the company continued to face pressure due to slowdown in an oversupplied rig market.

The visit of two Members of the British Parliament to the Falkland Islands, as announced last week has been cancelled. However the invitation to visit the Islands remains open and hopefully it will take place next year.

Argentina's current policy on the Falklands/Malvinas Islands sovereignty is a losing option because it is a 'maximalist' attitude with the purpose of ‘full recovery' of the disputed islands, said Argentine political scientist and writer Carlos Escudé.

According to FAO's monthly Cereal Supply and Demand Brief release, the forecast for 2014 world cereal production by about one million tons. At 2.5 billion tons, the full-year production figure would be 3.7 million tons below 2013's record output.

The Gherkin, one of the most distinctive buildings on London's skyline, has been bought by a Brazilian billionaire. Joseph Safra is reported to have paid more than £700m for the 180 meter tower, which is officially known as 30 St Mary Axe, its street address.