A BOAT made out of 12,500 recycled plastic bottles docked in Sydney Harbour yesterday after four months crossing the Pacific Ocean on a journey meant to raise awareness about the perils of plastic waste.

Merchant bank Rothschild's has decided to withdraw from London's gold market, as part of a wider strategy to distract itself from all commodities trading out of the capital.

David de Rothschild, who runs the Rothschild banking business in France, is to take over the running of the family-held banking empire from his cousin this month as the firm unites its French and British arms in a single entity.