Italy’s League floats tax cut paid for by deficit August 19, 2019 Italy’s ruling League party has set up another clash with the European Union over budget rules, saying it wants to cut taxes by raising its deficit. Read more: Italy’s political crisis triggers bond sell-off The statement of intent comes with Italy in political crisis after the League said its coalition government with the anti-establishment Five [...]
Sajid Javid quashes stamp duty speculation August 19, 2019 Chancellor Sajid Javid has moved to quash speculation he may be about to shift stamp duty from buyers to sellers. During an interview with The Times, Javid had appeared to float the idea ahead of his first Budget. When asked about changing who pays stamp duty to save first-time buyers paying any tax, he said: [...]
Stock markets rise after Germany hints at stimulus August 19, 2019 European stock markets have risen sharply after opening and bond yields have fallen as investors react to the news that Germany could inject some stimulus into its stalling economy. Read more: US stock markets jump after China hints at stimulus Germany’s Dax was the biggest riser, climbing 1.2 per cent in early trading. Meanwhile the [...]
Sales tick up as pre-Brexit buying spree gives summer boost to housing market August 19, 2019 Househunters hoping to lock in a deal ahead of the government’s Brexit deadline have driven a surprise buying spree this summer, giving life to the property market’s quietest season of the year. Agreed house sales in August rose 6.1 per cent from the same month in 2018, rising to the highest level at this time [...]
Downing Street rejects leaked no-deal Brexit chaos claims August 18, 2019 Downing Street has insisted that Whitehall reports predicting chaos and disruption in the event of a no-deal Brexit were outdated, as Boris Johnson dashes to meet EU leaders for last-minute talks next week. Claims made within the leaked dossier, codenamed Operation Yellowhammer, predicted food, fuel and medicine shortages in a no-deal exit. Read more: Food, [...]
Bank of England boss Mark Carney pulls out of UK-China dinner August 18, 2019 Bank of England governor Mark Carney has pulled out of a dinner in the Square Mile designed to foster relations between London and China. The City of London Corporation is holding the event at Guildhall on 3 September. It will be attended by China’s ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, the Corporation’s policy chief Catherine [...]
Lidl’s suppliers warned of EU tariff import costs August 18, 2019 Supermarket giant Lidl has reportedly indicated that its suppliers will have to foot the potential bill for EU import tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit. For goods delivered to Ireland, the German discounter has told British suppliers to be “delivery duty paid-ready” as the government’s October deadline for leaving the EU with or [...]
BT lines up £100m sale of Dutch infrastructure in bid to simplify business August 18, 2019 BT is said to be preparing the sale of more than £100m worth of infrastructure in the Netherlands, marking the latest step in its radical simplification plan. Boss Philip Jansen is set to offload telecoms towers and broadband cables that serve the firm’s Global Services business customers in the country, the Sunday Times reported. Read [...]
Boris Johnson urged to recall parliament amid no-deal Brexit ’emergency’ August 18, 2019 One hundred MPs have urged Boris Johnson to recall parliament from the summer recess because of the “grave economic emergency” Britain faces in the event of a no-deal Brexit. MPs from across the political divide wrote to the Prime Minister to demand updates from the government over its no-deal Brexit preparations following leaked revelations in [...]
Food, fuel and drug shortages: Leaked paper reveals no-deal Brexit fears August 18, 2019 Britain faces shortages of food, medicine and fuel as well as civil unrest on the Irish border if it leaves the EU without a deal on 31 October, a leaked Whitehall document has revealed. The document, codenamed Operation Yellowhammer, says the UK also faces months of disruption at ports, EU airports and at St Pancras, [...]