The Stories that Made 2015

2015 has come and gone with no area left unscathed. We've seen natures majestic intensity and man committing horrific acts. We've seen nations on the brink and hero's made on the field. We saw icons fall from grace and graceful beauty on the catwalk. We saw it all in 2015.

Headlines

The world suffered multiple atrocities with terrorists wreaking havoc indiscriminately killing in Paris and abroad while smaller groups of armed individuals killed with mass shootings and racial profiling.

Mother nature's awesome force was felt by those elsewhere with earthquakes in Nepal and more but it was man who taught nature with the killing of Cecil the lion and a climate on the edge.

More Headline News with Storyboards

Business

The world teetered on the edge early in the year with Greece threatening to break the Eurozone but pulled through in the end. After that it was business as usual with some straying off the beaten path seeing VW involved in a massive emissions scandal and a pharmaceutical CEO on an ego trip.

More Business News with Storyboards

Sports

The world saw world class athlete's compete on the world stage with the Rugby World Cup going to New Zealand and the New England Patriots winning the Super Bowl but it was FIFA that made headlines with a massive corruption scandal that sent shock waves around the globe.

More Sports News with Storyboards

Entertainment

The entertainment world celebrated at the usual awards ceremonies with all the expected festivities but it was individual entertainers who left their mark. While we lost some talent it was the darker side that made news with Bill Cosby's spectacular fall from grace as sexual assault victims emerged from all corners.

More Entertainment News with Storyboards

Technology

The world of technology saw the tech giants show their wares with new gadgets hitting the markets with new promises of a better life. It was also a time for man's achievements to take the spot light with the New Horizons craft reaching the farthest reaches of our solar system and private companies pushing the envelope to reach space.

More Technology News with Storyboards

Style

The beautiful people made sure they were seen with the Fashion Weeks drawing the fashion elite in droves while celebrities clambered for the spotlight in designer gowns and headed massive campaigns.

More Style News with Storyboards

The People Controlling the World's Money

This week we see nations and businesses busying themselves as the world around them changed.

Nations at Odds

We begin this week in Greece with the continuing drama over debt with the IMF raising a red flag initially but later saying they expect Greece to make the $1.7 billion payment by 30 June as Athens continues to negotiate with creditors. Greece, however, wasn't the only country arguing over public funds this week as anti austerity marches took place in London with celebrities joining the masses. Russia didn't have a great week either with Europe extending economic sanctions by 6 months due to the crises in the Ukraine.

Outside of financial crises we saw Australia reveal this week that it would join the China lead infrastructure bank as a founding member while in the States SCOTUS upheld Obamacare after another legal battle over the wording in the law. But while disputes and economic quandaries were fought it was revealed that the NSA had been targeting the business world with security companies in particular in order to create malware that could bypass their defenses.

The Business World

The business world would be rocked further with WikiLeaks releasing more Sony emails and documents showing a deal made with Apple and settlements made. Controversy didn't end there with businessman Donald Trump entering the race to be US President and making surprising progress even after controversial statements about immigrants resulting in Univision dropping Trumps Miss USA pageant. But while some controversies boiled over others were dealt with head on as many large retailers stopped selling confederate flag related items after the tragic events in Charleston last week.

Finally we end the week with the digital world of business, in particular the new streaming music industry where new comer Tidal lost it's interim CEO just months after losing a previous CEO but it's wasn't all bad news when Apple was confronted by pop princess Taylor Swift in an open letter condemning their plans to not pay artists resulting in a turn around where Apple agreed to pay artists during the 3 month trial period.

Wild West Business

This week in the world of money it was a mixed affair from art prices setting records to lawsuits costing millions.

The Good

We begin with a new record being set in the art world with the sale of Pablo Picasso's "Les femmes d'Alger" for $179 million but that wasn't all for the art world with Christie's reportedly selling over $1 billion worth of art work in just 3 days. It wasn't just the art world shaken by new revelations as it seems streaming music services have now outpaced downloaded music for the first time signaling a new era. The highs continued with the CEO of Chinese conglomerate Tiens Group taking 6400 of his best salespeople on holiday to France.

The Bad

There were lawsuits a plenty as Goldman Sachs was ordered to pay $80 million plus interest due to breaches associated with the sale of mortgage-linked securities and Duke Energy was ordered to pay $102 million after pleading guilty to criminal violations of the federal Clean Water Act. There was still more to come with 5 Big banks expected to plead guilty for rigging the price of foreign currencies and the GM ignition death toll continued to climb hitting 100 after GM claimed only 13 known cases. The bad news continued when it was revealed this week that the Baltimore riots had cost as much as $9 million with over 30 businesses suffering and things only got worse after an Amtrak crash killed 7 people two of whom where high up in the business world.

The Ugly

When it came to the world of politics things got ugly with President Obama's trade deal running into drama with the senate blocking the initial version but later agreeing on a revised version while elsewhere in the world Greece made progress with their financial bailout but warned of future problems.

The Business of Politics and Lawsuits

Another week in the world of money which saw politics and lawsuits dominate the headlines.

Politics

We start this week in the world of politics where a Brazilian judge has accepted charges filled by state prosecutors against 11 companies for allegedly forming a cartel to control construction and upkeep of the subway and train systems in Sao Paulo just weeks after a corruption scandal involving state oil giant Petrobras was revealed. In other South American news Citigroup was authorized by a US judge to process Argentine dept payments after numerous lengthy court battles while on the other side of the world in the Middle East we saw trouble as conflict in Yemen sent oil prices soaring. Europe saw protestors marching in Madrid against austerity measures called the "march for dignity" while the always complicated relationship between EU and Greece raised its head when Germany and other EU leaders set strict terms for Greek aid.

Legal

But it wasn't just bureaucracy this week as we also saw legal disputes with the Ellen Pao lawsuit taking center stage as her legal team wrapped up arguments. However, they weren't alone with Twitter also being sued for gender discrimination. The technology world also saw the Google anti competitive report leaked and news that Google had become a lobbying powerhouse with near weekly meetings at the White House. Outside of the tech world Ex-American Apparel CEO, Dov Charney, is seeking $40 million in damages after being fired last year.

Stock Markets

We end the week on Wall Street where news of Heinz and Kraft merging had mouths salivating with the prospect of a new super food company and lastly, the stuff dreams are made of, when we heard luxury car maker Porsche gave each of it's employee's a sizable bonus sharing the spoils after a successful year.