Sara Ledwith

Eurovision: unhinged melodies

ft.com — I'm sitting in rehearsals at the Eurovision Song Contest when two Montenegrin men dressed as cosmonauts start rapping in a cloud of smoke. After consulting the English translation in the programme, I'm no longer worried that I don't speak Montenegrin. "Beat goes crazy in my head, burn down bag, give me a drink.

After Google, Amazon to be grilled on UK tax presence

reuters.com — Credit: Reuters/Phil Noble A worker collects orders at Amazon's fulfilment centre in Rugeley, central England December 11, 2012. Amazon will follow search giant Google, which attended another grilling by parliament's Public Affairs Committee (PAC) over its tax affairs on Thursday. A Reuters report earlier this month raised questions over Google's earlier assertions that its UK-based staff don't sell to customers.

Starbucks have not yet paid money pledged after tax row

itv.com — Google boss grilled by MPs There has been public anger over the amount of tax Starbucks has paid. Photo: While Google has been squirming in front of MPs, Starbuck s has just admitted to me that they have not yet paid any of the millions pounds they promised they would pay to the government after a row over their tax before Christmas.

Clients question Google's UK tax status: poll

reuters.com — Credit: Reuters/Darren Staples A Google search page is seen through the spectacles of a computer user in Leicester, central England July 20, 2007. The Drum, a magazine for marketing professionals, asked 80 ad buyers and digital agencies -- companies which purchase advertising products on behalf of clients -- about their dealings with Google's London office and their interaction with the office in Dublin.

The Great Grey Catastrophe

reuters.com — May 2 - A quirky visual depiction of the ticking time bomb that Europe is facing - not the debt crisis, but how to pay for its growing elderly population.

Special Report: How Google UK clouds its tax liabilities

reuters.com — Credit: Reuters/UK Parliament via Reuters TV 1 of 7. A video grab image shows Google's vice president for northern and central Europe, Matt Brittin, addressing the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in London November 12, 2012. Matt Brittin, dressed in a fitted blue suit and open-necked white shirt, smiled confidently as he explained that Google Inc.

Special Report - How Google UK clouds its tax liabilities

uk.reuters.com — LONDON (Reuters) - In November 2012, Google's Vice President for Northern and Central Europe was called to an oak-panelled conference room overlooking the Thames to testify to a parliamentary committee about how firms like his reap billions in revenue in Britain but pay very little corporate income tax.

Exclusive - Britain to quiz Google and auditor again on tax

uk.reuters.com — LONDON (Reuters) - Executives from Google Inc. and its auditor Ernst & Young will be called again to a British parliament committee to testify on tax, after a Reuters investigation highlighted inconsistencies in the way Google portrays its activities in Britain, the committee's chairwoman told Reuters.

World business, finance, and political news from the Financial Times

ft.com — The latest UK and international business, finance, economic and political news, comment and analysis from the Financial Times on FT.com

Cyprus tremors could shake the world

ft.com — From Homer to H.G. Wells, islands have been depicted in European literature as sun-kissed havens of sorcery, places where the natural order is inverted to terrible effect. For eurozone leaders, Cyprus is the real deal. In a sense they have only