Britain Financial News

Victoria Mary Clarke, the wife of Shane MacGowan, expressed her desire for the iconic Christmas song «Fairytale of New York» to become the UK's Christmas number one in honor of the late Pogues frontman. Despite its release in 1987, the track has only reached number two in the charts.

But observers have warned that the headline-grabbing — but voluntary — pledges promoted by the UAE could distract from the more challenging work of negotiating a formal COP28 text at the climax of the two-week talks. As pressure builds during what is expected to be the hottest year on record, here are some major funding pledges and declarations announced so far at COP28. — Loss and damage - The first day of the talks saw the official launch of a «loss and damage» fund to help vulnerable countries cope with the increasingly costly and damaging impacts of climate disasters. Thursday's agreement came with pledges of $100 million each from the UAE and Germany, $109 million from France, $50 million from Britain, $25 million from Denmark and $17.5 million from the United States, the world's biggest oil and gas producer. The total committed so far is a little over $576 million, according to a tally by the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group. That falls vastly short of the $100 billion a year that developing nations — which have historically been least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions — have said are needed to cover losses from natural disasters. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa told the summit that «we need to mobilise funding on a far greater scale». Campaigners said the US offering was woefully inadequate from the world's biggest historical polluter. Bineshi Albert of the Climate Justice Alliance called it «insulting». «It is a paltry, shameful amount of money that shows the US is completely uninterested in prioritising or being accountable to the climate impacts frontline communities are facing,» she said. — Food and farming - More than 130 countries have agreed to

Rosie and Alba are hard at work on their canvases, redefining the essence of abstract art — one tail swish at a time. To the untrained eye, their work at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre (ARC) could be seen as boisterous, childish at times and even just plain old messy. But the two canines have a far more important job than pleasing critics. Inflation and high interest rates across the UK plus people abandoning pets they bought during the Covid-19 pandemic has caused a surge in strays and stretched the ARC to its financial limits. «People just can't afford insurance and veterinary care and just to look after their dogs in general,» Bee Lawson, an animal behaviour specialist at the ARC, told AFP. «At the moment, we are just taking in strays because we are experiencing such a high level of dogs coming in.»

United States led calls at UN climate talks Saturday for efforts to curb methane emissions but also pushed a deeply controversial drive to boost nuclear energy to curb global warming. With smoggy skies in Dubai highlighting the challenges facing the world, other pledges are expected at the COP28 conference, including stepping up the deployment of renewable energy. The use of nuclear power as a cleaner alternative to fossil fuels is highly controversial as environmental groups are concerned about safety and the disposal of nuclear waste. But more than 20 nations ranging from the US to Ghana, Japan and several European countries said in a declaration that it plays a «key role» in the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by mid-century. They called for the tripling of nuclear energy capacity by 2050 from 2020 levels. «We are not making the argument to anybody that this is absolutely going to be a sweeping alternative to every other energy source,» US climate envoy John Kerry said at COP28. «But we know because (of) the science and the reality of facts… that you can't get to net zero 2050 without some nuclear,» he said. The other signatories include Britain, France, South Korea, Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates.

Malhotra has alleged that the World Health Organisation (WHO) has completely lost its independence and suggested that the Indian government should ignore its advice on various issues and exit the global health body. Talking to PTI, Malhotra, who gave a lecture at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on «The Corporate Capture of Medicine and Public Health» recently, also claimed that regulators do not independently evaluate data related to drugs. «Drug regulators, such as the FDA, who are supposed to evaluate drugs, receive 65 per cent of their funding from big pharma.

This week in crypto: Vitalik Buterin said he plans to redesign Ethereum staking and praised the UTXO payment model, MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor bought an additional $593 million worth of BTC,  Reddit renounced Moons’ contract completing the decentralization of the token, and Bitfinex’s tokenized bond raised only $1.5 million of its initial target of $10 million. Trust Wallet alerted users about an ongoing issue with the Bitcoin node that could result in transaction delays.

Sajjan Jindal's JSW Group buying a 35% stake in MG Motor India is a win-win deal for both. MG Motor India is a British brand owned by China’s SAIC. The company had a good start with the launch of its first product SUV Hector in 2019.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's exit from the Royal Family, a book by royal journalist and author Omid Scobie called 'Endgame' reignited the stir around the British monarchy, according to a report by Hindustan Times. In his book, Scobie revealed that Prince Harry had not been contacted by anyone from the Royal Family about Queen Elizabeth's deteriorating health, according to Scobie. His family members hadn't informed him of the Queen's passing, and he found out through a breaking news notification on his phone.

heatwave of 2021 was one of the most extreme deviations from meteorological norms ever recorded, anywhere. But others have come close. As the world gets hotter, phenomena once considered rare are becoming common and others, believed impossible, are happening.

Vistara on Saturday announced the diversion of Flight UK906, originally bound for Delhi from Ahmedabad to Ahmedabad itself. Additionally, Flight UK954, travelling from Mumbai to Delhi, has been redirected to Jaipur. This adjustment came in response to adverse weather conditions and poor visibility at the Delhi airport.

Narendra Modi met his Italian counterpart Giorgia Meloni on the sidelines of the United Nations' ongoing 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) in Dubai on December 1. In a photo post on social media site X (formerly Twitter), Modi wrote in Italian: “Met PM Giorgia Meloni of Italy on the sidelines of the COP28 Summit. Looking forward to collaborative efforts between India and Italy for a sustainable and prosperous future." Also Read: Italy PM Giorgia Meloni applauds PM Modi calls him the ‘most loved leader’ of the world Meloni in turn also posted a selfie with the Indian PM saying, “Good friends at COP28.

Clearing Corp of India (CCIL), paving the decks for billions of dollars of trade in Indian sovereign bonds routed through London lenders that needed a mutually beneficial deal to commit personal funds and effectively discharge their custodian role. The MoU between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Bank of England (BoE), while acting as an actionable template for other regulatory regimes uncertain about oversight rights over CCIL, also helps establish a framework robust enough to accommodate the potential $25 billion in incremental inflows Indian sovereign bonds are likely to receive by mid-2025 after their inclusion in JPMorgan's keenly tracked global index. Relief for UK Banks in India «The MoU establishes a framework for the BoE to place reliance on RBI's regulatory and supervisory activities while safeguarding UK's financial stability,» the RBI said in a statement Friday. «The MoU also demonstrates the importance of cross-border cooperation to facilitate international clearing activities and the BoE's commitment to deference to other regulators' regimes.» ET had reported on November 28 that the RBI and UK regulators had made significant progress on a new MoU for the treatment of the CCIL and that the BoE would likely communicate a «hands-off» approach on potentially contentious issues, such as rights of audit over the Indian clearing house. Investor & Custodian The move is a relief to UK-based banks Standard Chartered, Barclays and HSBC, which are themselves large players in the domestic bond and derivatives markets and are also custodians of foreign investment flows into India.

LCH has reached out to Indian banks and informed them that it has fulfilled necessary conditions mandated by the Reserve Bank of India to function as a qualifying central counterparty (QCCP) for offshore derivatives trades. In a development that could ease banks' capital requirements for offshore non-deliverable forwards (NDF) trades, LCH has said to banks that it has complied with norms prescribed by the RBI for QCCPs, sources aware of the development told ET. The LCH is one of the largest players in the global interest rate swap market. «The LCH has referred to an RBI circular and informed banks that they have met the requirements.

By Timothy Gardner

Eli Lilly announced that the drug Jaypirca has been given second approval by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), on Friday, December 1. The drug is used to treat a form of blood cancer.

Netflix has officially announced the renewal of multiple TV series for the upcoming year, with a comprehensive list released in December 2023. The following is a compilation of English and non-English language shows set to make a return in 2024.

Omid Scobie following the release of his controversial book, "Endgame." In the book, Scobie claims that two members of the Royal Family, who allegedly discussed the color of Meghan and Harry's son's skin, were named in letters between Meghan and King Charles. The couple had previously accused an unnamed senior royal of expressing concerns about their son Archie's skin color during an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Scobie contends that UK laws prevent him from disclosing the names, but the Dutch translation of «Endgame» seemingly identifies the two Royals involved in the race controversy.

Netflix has officially greenlit the production of the second season for the zombie-based reality competition game show, Zombieverse. The announcement surfaced on Netflix's K-content account through a social media post: “ZOMBIEVERSE is renewed for season 2! The world is a zombieverse, and we’re all just living in it, right? Expect upgraded quests, enhanced zombies, a new cast, and an expanded universe.” The debut season, which premiered on August 8, 2023, unfolded in Seoul and showcased participants testing their survival skills amid a simulated zombie outbreak. Contestants engaged in challenging quests to prove their mettle in the face of adversity. The show had a notable presence in global and South Korean Netflix rankings. During its launch week, it secured a position in the global top 10, accumulating 14.3 million hours watched and claiming the fifth spot in the Non-English series category. FlixPatrol data indicates that Zombieverse maintained its popularity in South Korea, residing in the country's top 10 for an impressive 17 days. This success aligns with a trend of South Korean reality series achieving significant viewership, evident in the renewals of The Devil’s Plan and Physical: 100 for their second seasons. Single’s Inferno is also slated to return for a third season in the near future. With the confirmed renewal, fans can anticipate an array of enhancements in Zombieverse season 2, including upgraded quests, more formidable zombies, a fresh cast, and an expanded universe.

ASLEF's train drivers have decided to go on strike over long pending demands for better pay in December. Between December 2 and 8, union members at sixteen train operating companies in England will stage walkouts on various days. And will also not work any overtime from December 1 to 9.

Quiver Quantitative — Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (GOOG) has recently urged the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)'s cloud computing practices, alleging anti-competitive behavior that stifles the market. This request emerges amid broader scrutiny of the cloud computing industry dominated by Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) in various global regions, including the UK, European Union, and the United States. Google's push for regulatory intervention was detailed in a letter to the CMA, which Reuters obtained.

How to factor an inheritance into your retirement planning is a looming question for a growing number of people, given that an estimated US$84.4 trillion in savings, stocks and property will pass from baby boomers to their heirs and favoured charities by 2025 in the greatest transfer of generational wealth in history.