Finance minister insists German economy ‘not in crisis’ despite growth slowdown February 8, 2019 German finance minister Olaf Scholz attempted a spirited defence of his country’s economy today, insisting it is “not in crisis” despite weakening growth. Angela Merkel’s finance minister rejected claims Germany is heading for a recession and played down the Eurozone powerhouse’s economic troubles on a rare visit to London. Read more: Irish backstop 'not a trick' [...]
Concerns of ‘overboarding’ spark shareholder backlash against Compass non-exec February 8, 2019 A non-executive at FTSE 100 food company the Compass Group sparked a shareholder backlash at its annual general meeting today over concerns she holds too many roles. Twenty two per cent of the votes cast on whether Ireena Vittal should be re-elected to the company’s board went against her. Read more: Compass shares near all-time high [...]
Italy denies it will ban Huawei and ZTE from 5G rollout February 8, 2019 The Italian government has refuted claims that it will ban tech giant Huawei and ZTE from having a role in its development of the 5G mobile network. The Chinese company has faced criticism across the world and has been under intense scrutiny regarding its connection with the Chinese government amid suspicion it could pose a [...]
Ghosn offers to reimburse Versailles for lavish Marie Antoinette-themed wedding February 8, 2019 Ousted Renault boss Carlos Ghosn has offered to reimburse the Chateau de Versailles for his wedding after it emerged the French carmaker paid part of the costs. The French car firm said yesterday it would alert prosecutors over concerns that Renault’s sponsorship deal with the palace, where Ghosn held a wedding reception in 2016 as [...]
Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger faces no confidence vote as antisemitism row drags on February 8, 2019 Jewish Labour MP Luciana Berger is facing a no confidence vote by Labour members in her Liverpool Wavertree constituency amid an ongoing row about antisemitism with the party. Berger has been a prominent campaigner against anti-semitism and has been a magnet for online abuse and threats, to the extent she was given a bodyguard to [...]
Topshop billionaire Sir Philip Green drops legal injunction against the Telegraph February 8, 2019 A High Court judge has officially dropped Sir Philip Green's legal injunction against the Daily Telegraph. The Arcadia chairman had previously prevented the newspaper from publishing allegations of misconduct against five employees, including alleged sexual harassment and racial abuse. Mr Justice Warby granted the Topshop billionaire his request to discontinue the injunction on Friday, just [...]
Government housing targets under fire from UK watchdog February 8, 2019 The government’s method used to assess the number of homes needed to fix Britain’s housing crisis is "flawed", according to the UK's public spending watchdog. In a damning new report published today, the National Audit Office (NAO) has said that the government’s planning system “is underperforming and cannot demonstrate that it is meeting housing demand [...]
Italian industrial production suffers surprising fall as the country’s economic struggles continue February 8, 2019 Italian industrial production fell sharply in December despite expectations it would increase, as the country entered a recession. Production decreased by 0.8 per cent in December, the Italian statistical office Istat said, a fourth consecutive monthly drop and much lower than forecasts of a 0.4 per cent rise. Read more: France recalls ambassador from Italy [...]
Freshfields partner accused of slapping DJ in argument over music February 8, 2019 A senior partner at Magic Circle law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has been accused of slapping a DJ in an argument at a cocktail party. Herve Pisani, the managing partner of Freshfields Paris office, was accused of the assault by the unnamed DJ after a party for the firm’s partners in September last year. According [...]
Irish backstop ‘not a trick’ to keep the UK in the EU, German finance minister says February 8, 2019 The Irish backstop is not a “trick” to keep the UK in the EU indefinitely, the German finance minister said today as he warned the lack of clarity over Brexit made him "nervous." Speaking at a Bloomberg event in London, Olaf Scholz made it clear the EU supported Ireland over the issue and called for [...]