Euro

The European Central Bank and its counterparts in the UK, US, China, and India are exploring a new form of state-backed money built on similar online ledger technology to cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum. So-called central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) envision a future where we’ll all have our own digital wallets and transfer money between them at the touch of a button, with no need for high-street banks to be involved because it all happens on a blockchain. But CBDCs also…

The rouble was 0.7 percent stronger against the dollar at 70.49 as it gained 1.2 percent to trade at 73.84 versus the euro. Movements on Russian markets are affected by the rouble being propped up by capital controls. (AFP)…

Euro 2020 is here — in 2021. Thank you, COVID-19. You might have thought they would have changed it to “Euro 2021” but no, UEFA — the European football body that organises it — is sticking to the Euro 2020 branding. Delayed a full year due to the pandemic, UEFA Euro 2020 will now run from Friday, June 11 to Sunday, July 11. It's a month-long football festival. But Euro 2020 is much unlike those that have come before, for more reasons than one. There is no single or joint host nation here. Instead, Euro 2020 will take…

Euro 2020 is nearing its end. Just eight teams — Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and Ukraine — are left in the tournament now, with the first knockout round laying waste to the defending Euro champions (Portugal), a promising squad (Netherlands), and two previous World Cup champions (France and Germany). The last eight will contest the UEFA Euro 2020 quarter-finals over the weekend, starting Friday evening in the historic Russian city of Saint Petersburg and ending late Saturday night…