Truce or dare: A Trump stunt, or the end of the US-China trade war? November 6, 2018 Last Thursday, Donald Trump took to Twitter to tell the world that trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping were “moving along nicely”. His words prompted a rise in Asian stock markets; the Shanghai Composite index climbed by almost 2.7 per cent during trading on Friday, and the Hang Seng surged by about 4.2 per cent, [...]
Which way for markets? It’s all about the midterms November 6, 2018 Americans will cast their vote in the US midterm elections today, and the results will set the tone for stock markets around the world. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs, while 35 of the 100 Senate seats will be on offer too. The big picture result will centre around [...]
Work should pay – for both high and low earners November 6, 2018 In a tense standoff with Labour MP Wes Streeting last night, chancellor Philip Hammond defended his decision to reduce the burden of income tax in the autumn Budget. The argument, played out in front of the Treasury Select Committee, was classic Tory v Labour fare. Streeting demanded to know why Hammond was cutting taxes instead of [...]
Brussels ups the ante over Italy budget November 5, 2018 Eurozone finance ministers stood their ground against the Italian government tonight, as it urged policymakers in Rome to revise its draft budget to align with European rules. The European Commission rejected Italy’s free-spending draft budget plan last month and ordered the government to submit a revised budget by 13 November. The EU’s economic and financial [...]
Hammond spies end of UK’s deficit despite Budget spending increase November 5, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond has said he believes the government’s target of eliminating the UK’s deficit is “within touching distance”, despite ramping up public spending and tax cuts in the Budget. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee this evening, Hammond denied his 2016 plans to reach a budget surplus by the mid-2020s had been abandoned. However, he [...]
Varadkar expresses ‘openness’ to Irish backstop review, but rules out British withdrawal November 5, 2018 Ireland Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said today he is open to the idea of a review of any so-called Irish backstop arrangement, as long as Britain could not decide to kill off the temporary measure. A way of avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland is widely considered the biggest obstacle to the UK and [...]
Spending watchdog says MOD equipment plans are ‘unaffordable’ November 5, 2018 The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) plans for equipment purchases are “unaffordable” and could produce a nearly £15bn funding gap, according to public spending watchdog the National Audit Office (NAO). It said the MOD’s plan for the next decade, which includes replacing submarine stock and remote-controlled aircraft, was “not sustainable if the department wants to deliver [...]
Bureauc-rat attack: Rodent control called out five times a day by government departments November 5, 2018 Rat-catchers have been called to government buildings an average of five times a day since 2014, City A.M. can reveal. Michael Gove’s department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has spent the most money trying to get vermin under control, with Defra forking out £740,000 on pest controllers, according to figures released after a [...]
Brexit financial services deal ‘imminent’, says minister November 5, 2018 A financial services Brexit deal will be “imminently” secured with the EU, according to minister John Glen. Britain is hoping for an improved version of the EU's equivalence system, which allows foreign firms to trade in the EU if their rules are aligned to those in the union. Glen, the financial services minister, said he is “extremely confident [...]
Londongrad: Explosion in number of Russian spies in UK November 5, 2018 The number of Russian spies in the UK has exploded in recent years with up to five times as many Russian case offices in the UK as there were in 2010, a new report says. The report from think tank the Henry Jackson Society says there are 200 Russian case offices in the UK handling [...]