Brexit: PM to meet Cabinet today amid election rumours September 2, 2019 The Prime Minister will host an emergency Cabinet this afternoon, ahead of a reception with Conservative MPs, fuelling rumours that he is poised to call a General Election. Boris Johnson was expected to hold Cabinet on Wednesday morning, ahead of the chancellor’s fast-tracked spending round. However it has been brought forward to this afternoon, several [...]
FTSE 100 reshuffle: What has gone wrong for M&S? September 2, 2019 High street stalwart Marks & Spencer looks almost certain to fall out of the FTSE 100 after markets close today. The retailer’s shares have lost about 40 per cent of their value since January last year, despite management attempts to turn its fortunes around. Read more: Ocado and M&S share prices drop as they complete [...]
Labour pledge to hand shares to workers ‘would cost investors £300bn’ September 2, 2019 A Labour government would effectively raise UK corporation tax to the highest in the developed world through radical share proposals that could cost investors hundreds of billions of pounds, according to a new report. Investors could face a £300bn hit from Labour’s “inclusive ownership fund” (IOF) plan to give employees a stake in their company [...]
Ryanair flights continue as normal as pilots kick off three-day strike September 2, 2019 Ryanair pilots have begun their three-day strike today, but the airline said it is still operating a normal schedule. Ryanair said it did not expected any strike-related disruption to its flights today, although it has suffered knock-on effects from air traffic control problems that began in France yesterday. Read more: Ryanair loses court bid to [...]
Ally quits Neil Woodford’s namesake trust in latest blow for troubled fund manager September 2, 2019 A senior figure is stepping down from one of the largest investment trusts managed by Neil Woodford, as the embattled stockpicker’s current woes continue to cause ripples across his network. Steven Harris is to resign from the board of Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT), a major investment portfolio currently run by under-fire investor Neil Woodford. [...]
Boris Johnson threatens rebel MPs over Brexit vote September 2, 2019 The Prime Minister has threatened to sack dozens of Conservative MPs if they vote against the government this week. MPs return to Westminster tomorrow and are poised for a showdown over Brexit, after Boris Johnson pushed for parliament to be prorogued for five weeks in the run-up to the Brexit Halloween deadline. It is widely [...]
De La Rue replaces chairman after investor pressure September 2, 2019 Banknote and passport producer De La Rue has appointed a new chairman after months of investor pressure on its top level leadership. Kevin Loosemore, who is also chairman at struggling IT giant Micro Focus, will take up the role with immediate effect. Read more: Investor ‘threatens to oust chair’ at troubled printer De La Rue [...]
Auditor ranking race narrows as FTSE 100 firms spread out September 2, 2019 Prized FTSE 100 clients are now more evenly spread out among the Big Four accountancy giants than at any time in almost 15 years, with some of the UK’s top auditors losing out to their rivals after an intense year of scrutiny and high-profile failures. The blue-chip client league table for auditors has “never been [...]
Investigations into wealthy individuals boost tax coffers September 2, 2019 Taxes collected from investigations into wealthy individuals soared to a record high in the last year, with leaks from the Panama Papers and new global data sharing agreements boosting Britain’s Treasury coffers. HMRC’s yield from probes into wealthy individuals jumped 58 per cent to a record £1.9bn in 2018/19, according to new research from law [...]
No-deal Brexit to accelerate London house price drop September 2, 2019 London house prices could sink up to seven per cent next year if no Brexit deal is reached by the 31 October deadline date, according to the latest research. If the UK exits the European Union with a deal London house prices will fall by a smaller 4.7 per cent, continuing the trend of declining [...]