February, 2016

• 27 February

  RBS hits eighth straight annual loss

  

  London / AFP Britain’s state-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) posted its eighth annual loss in a row although the latest result came in 43 percent smaller at around £2.0 billion. The loss after tax stood at £1.979 billion ($2.771 billion, 2.518 billion euros) last year compared with a net loss of £3.47 billion in 2014, helped by the sale ...

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• 27 February

  Citigroup gets subpoena from US attorney in FIFA probe

  

  Washington / Bloomberg Citigroup Inc. said it received a subpoena from the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York regarding the bank’s possible role in bribes paid to international soccer officials. The government is seeking information on banking relationships and transactions tied to FIFA, global soccer’s governing body, New York-based Citigroup said Friday in its annual regulatory filing ...

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• 27 February

  HSBC says US ends antitrust probe into metals trading

  

  Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc said the US Justice Department shut an antitrust probe into bank’s precious metals trading as prosecutors focus on a criminal fraud investigation. The bank was informed in January that the antitrust division was closing its investigation, while the probe run by the fraud section is ongoing, the company disclosed in a filing. HSBC didn’t immediately comment ...

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• 27 February

  MUFG $9.4bn in bonds makes it week’s top global issuer

  

  TOKYO / Bloomberg Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) Inc., Japan’s largest bank, sold the equivalent of $9.4 billion in bonds this week to help boost buffers to meet regulatory requirements, making it the biggest issuer of corporate notes globally this week. MUFG offered 300 billion yen ($2.66 billion) in higher-tier capital-counting notes to institutional investors on Friday, in addition to ...

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• 27 February

  MWC picks the best VR headsets and watches

  

  Relaxnews While Virtual Reality (VR) headsets were the stars of the show at the 2016 Mobile World Congress, new smartwatches wore noticeably more thin on the ground. Here’s a roundup of the hottest devices from both fields that were on show at the trade fair in Barcelona, Spain HTC Vive First revealed at last year’s MWC, the HTC Vive has ...

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• 27 February

  Facebook moves to new full-screen ‘immersive’ ads

  

  AFP Facebook rolled out a platform for quick, immersive ads with the potential to become a tempting rival to television commercials. The leading social network made Canvas available globally as a free tool marketers can use to turn smartphone or tablet ads into “experiences” mixing videos, photos, text and “call-to-action” buttons. Mobile ads built with Canvas entice people to scroll ...

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• 27 February

  Samsung Galaxy S7 edges Twitter count

  

  Relaxnews The two new Galaxy S7 handsets from Samsung were the most-tweeted about Mobile World Congress topics during the annual tech conference’s 2016 edition. The Mobile World Congress has increasingly become a destination for technology manufacturers of all kinds, but at the eighth MWC in Barcelona, February 22-25, it was the Samsung Galaxy S7 and S7 Edge that won out ...

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• 27 February

  YouTube’s new video blurring tool

  

  Relaxnews YouTube has launched a new custom blurring tool that allows users to blur objects in any video. Available on desktop versions of YouTube, the Enhancements feature lets creators blur objects — from license plates to wardrobe malfunctions — even while moving. The tool, which uses new technology that analyzes the motion of any video, simply requires users to draw ...

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• 27 February

  Springtime colours, fur and frills

  

  Relaxnews Milan Fashion Week was marked by catwalk shows, including a vibrantly colorful autumn/winter preview from Fendi. As usual, elegance and fur were firmly on the agenda, but Karl Lagerfeld and Silvia Venturini Fendi brought a cool, funky vibe and a fresh feel to this season’s collection. The show’s funky undertone was felt even before the first models took to ...

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• 27 February

  Eterna unveils a new ‘KonTiki’ diver’s watch for women

  

  Relaxnews With the Baselworld watch and jewelry fair set to open in Basel, Switzerland on March 17, the Swiss watchmaker has previewed the ‘Lady KonTiki Diver,’ a stylish and sporty women’s diving watch. It’s also Eterna’s first new “KonTiki” ladies’ watch in 23 years. The ‘KonTiki’ watch was launched in 1958, inspired by a historic Pacific crossing. In fact, the ...

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