US and UK working on ‘very substantial’ trade deal, says Trump July 27, 2019 US President Donald Trump has revealed that he has begun talks with Boris Johnson and the UK about a “very substantial” trade deal. Speaking on Friday, Trump said that a deal between the two countries following the UK’s exit from the European Union could lead to a “three to four, five times” increase in current [...]
Boris Johnson to pledge funding for high-speed rail route between Leeds and Manchester July 27, 2019 Boris Johnson is expected to pledge to fund a new high-speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester during a speech in the latter, later today. He will give his backing to the trans-Pennine transport link to “turbo-charge the economy”. Read more: UK car industry tells Boris Johnson no-deal Brexit not an option It is the [...]
Ireland foreign minister hits out at Boris Johnson’s ‘very unhelpful’ Brexit approach July 26, 2019 Ireland’s foreign minister Simon Coveney has labelled Boris Johnson’s approach to Brexit as “very unhelpful” just two days into the newly-appointed Prime Minister’s tenure. Coveney said on Friday that Johnson appeared set on a collision course with the European Union that would prevent an orderly exit from the Bloc come 31 October. Read more: UK [...]
Patisserie Valerie appoints administrators for Grant Thornton probe July 26, 2019 Patisserie Valerie’s creditors have appointed new administrators to probe the cafe chain’s auditor Grant Thornton. FRP Advisory will take over from KPMG after the financial services firm said it could not investigate Grant Thornton due to a conflict of interest. Grant Thornton audits KPMG’s accounts. Read more: Patisserie Valerie overstated financial position by £94m The [...]
Clearing house LCH drafts in Credit Agricole executive as new CEO July 25, 2019 Global clearing house LCH has drafted in a former top boss of Credit Agricole as its new chief executive. Isabelle Girolami is set to take on the role of chief executive in November, taking over from Martin Pluves as he begins a new role as head of the Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities Markets Standards [...]
Jaguar Land Rover skids to £395m loss in first quarter July 25, 2019 Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) skidded to a £395m pre tax loss for the first quarter of its new financial year after sales fell nearly 12 per cent. In the three months to 30 June, JLR sold 128,600 cars, down from 145,500 cars in the same period last year. Revenue slid to £5.07bn for the quarter, [...]
Business groups urge Boris Johnson to drop opposition to Heathrow third runway July 25, 2019 Business groups have urged the new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to drop his apparent opposition to Heathrow’s third runway. In a letter to Johnson, business firms including the CBI and British Chamber of Commerce warned that a failure to support the £14bn scheme would “prevent us all from successfully building a global Britain”. Read more: [...]
Majority of Londoners support TfL control over commuter rail services July 25, 2019 Nearly 60 per cent of Londoners want decision making on the railways to be taken by the mayor of London and Transport for London (TfL), a new poll has found. Research by Populus for the Rail Delivery Group (RDG), which represents train firms and Network Rail, found that 59 per cent of Londoners want decision [...]
Burford Capital posts profit bump as it hits back at critical analyst July 25, 2019 London-listed litigation funder Burford Capital today announced that its profit after tax grew 36 per cent to $225m (£180m) in the first half of 2019. The funder said litigation investment income in the six months to 30 June hit $264m, up 36 per cent from the same period the previous year. Burford said investment returns [...]
Boris Johnson repeats pledge to leave EU on 31 October in first speech to parliament July 25, 2019 Boris Johnson has repeated his pledge to take the UK out of the EU on 31 October in his first statement to the House of Commons as Prime Minister. Johnson told MPs that his mission was to deliver Brexit on 31 October. “I and all ministers in this government are committed to leaving on this [...]