First Group appoints former Arriva boss as chair August 15, 2019 Travel company First Group has appointed former Arriva chief executive David Martin as its new chair. The appointment comes the day after First won a tender to run the West Coast mainline alongside Italian firm Trenitalia. Former chair Wolfhart Hauser resigned in June after 30 per cent of investors voted against his re-election. Read more: [...]
Grant Shapps questions whether Heathrow third runway plan ‘stacks up’ August 14, 2019 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has cast doubt over the Heathrow third runway after he questioned whether the £14bn plan “stacks up”. Shapps, who replaced Chris Grayling when Boris Johnson became Prime Minister last month, said that while parliament had voted in favour of the third runway, there were “questions about whether the whole plan stacks [...]
US vice president Mike Pence to speak at City trade banquet August 14, 2019 US vice president Mike Pence will speak at a trade banquet in the City when he visits London next month, City A.M. can reveal. The black tie dinner, hosted by the City of London Corporation, will take place at Guildhall in the Square Mile on 5 September and will also be attended by the international trade secretary Liz Truss. Some City councillors [...]
ECB tells banks in Britain to speed up Brexit preparations August 14, 2019 Banks have been urged to speed up their Brexit preparations by the European Central Bank (ECB), which warned yesterday that London-based firms are falling behind on potential plans to move jobs. The Eurozone’s top banking watchdog has called on firms to step up their contingency plans as the UK nears Downing Street’s 31 October deadline [...]
Venture Capital funding hits record high August 14, 2019 Venture capital (VC) funding in the UK soared to a record high during the first half of this year, bolstered by a growing appetite for tech investments. Funding in VC rose to £4.3bn during the first half of 2019, rising 45 per cent on the same period last year. Read more: Barclays stops banking cryptocurrency [...]
UK court blocks private prosecution over Boris Johnson’s Brexit bus claim August 14, 2019 A campaigner attempting to prosecute the Prime Minister over claims that Britain would be £350m a week better off after leaving the EU has lost his bid to take the case to the UK’s Supreme Court. Marcus Ball was seeking to bring a crowdfunded private prosecution against Boris Johnson for misconduct in public office over [...]
Recession warning lights flash red as UK ‘yield curve’ inverts August 14, 2019 Warning lights are flashing for the UK economy after the government bond “yield curve” inverted this morning for the first time since 2008. An inversion is traditionally seen as a steadfast indicator of an upcoming recession. Read more: Into the red: UK economy shrinks for first time in seven years The curve is the difference [...]
Boris Johnson blasts ‘terrible collaboration’ between MPs and EU August 14, 2019 Boris Johnson has blasted pro-Remain MPs for a “terrible collaboration” with the EU to prevent a no-deal Brexit, during his first ‘People’s PMQs’. The Prime Minister used a live Facebook stream to answer pre-posted questions from members of the public, the first of which was about Brexit. Johnson said: “There’s a terrible collaboration, as it [...]
Prudential outlines demerger date as first-half profits rise August 14, 2019 Britain’s biggest insurer Prudential said this morning that its highly-anticipated demerger will take place later this year, as it also reported a double-digit rise in profits for the first half of 2019. Plans to separate the firm’s UK business, M&GPrudential, from its Asian and US operations were confirmed by the group’s management team this morning, [...]
UK train fares set for another substantial rise as inflation climbs August 14, 2019 UK train fares are set for another substantial rise in January 2020 after the inflation gauge they are based on climbed by a yearly rate of 2.8 per cent in July, according to official figures released today. Read more: UK wage growth hits 11-year high in first quarter despite shrinking economy Each January, train fares [...]