The FCO is leading a delegation of British life sciences firms to China this week February 13, 2017 A Foreign Office minister is leading a delegation of British healthcare and life sciences firms to China this week in a bid to boost trade. Asia-Pacific minister Alok Sharma will be in South China from Monday to Wednesday, before visiting Beijing to meet with Chinese ministers. It comes just days after Downing Street confirmed that Prime Minister [...]
Swiss voters reject tax reform plan February 12, 2017 Voters in Switzerland have chosen to block the government’s attempts to reform its corporate tax regime. The federal chancellery announced on Sunday that the plans had been rejected by 59 per cent of voters in a nation-wide referendum held last week. Switzerland’s government had sought to abolish ultra-low tax rates for multinationals, whilst preparing a [...]
Pressure mounts on House of Commons speaker John Bercow over Brexit remarks February 12, 2017 Pressure is increasing on House of Commons speaker John Bercow after a cabinet minister warned of "a strong reaction" to Bercow's public statement that he voted for the UK to stay in the EU, and government sources said Downing Street would not intervene to protect him. It emerged today that Bercow had discussed his Remain vote with Reading [...]
Small business commissioner will tackle late payment issues February 12, 2017 The hunt is on for the UK’s first small business commissioner. As part of its strategy to tackle late payment issues, the government will hire an advocate for small businesses. This move comes in response to the discovery that nearly half of the UK’s small businesses experience late payment. Payment processor Bacs estimated that a [...]
Toshiba is set to report a £3bn loss for nine months of 2016 later this week February 12, 2017 Toshiba, the troubled Japanese conglomerate looking to build a new nuclear reactor in Cumbria, is set to report a group net loss of approximately ¥ 400bn (£2.8bn) for the three quarters to December, the Nikkei reported. The loss is largely due to a goodwill impairment of around £4.2bn on a US nuclear unit that came to light in late [...]
Rebel peers are confident of amending Theresa May’s Article 50 Bill in the House of Lords February 12, 2017 Rebel peers are confident of amending the Article 50 Bill with protections for EU nationals once the legislation arrives in the House of Lords. The Bill, which grants Prime Minister Theresa May the power to trigger Brexit talks, was passed unamended by the House of Commons last week. But both the Lib Dems and Labour have [...]
Almost 50 Tory MPs are demanding a fast-track visa system for Commonwealth citizens February 12, 2017 Commonwealth countries could be offered a new “fast track” visa system in the aftermath of Brexit, under plans promoted by almost 50 Conservative MPs. In a letter to home secretary Amber Rudd, 45 Tory backbenchers have called for the UK to “extend the hand of friendship to our Commonwealth partners”. The MPs, who include former [...]
Three important things we learned from Jean-Claude Juncker this weekend on the future of Europe, Trump and Brexit February 12, 2017 European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has spoken about the future of Europe and his own role within it, in an interview with German radio, and the effect of Trump and Brexit. Here are the three important things he said. 1. Europe is divided – and Britain isn't helping Opinions of both the public in the member [...]
It’s not over: Donald Trump is preparing a new travel ban February 11, 2017 Donald Trump last night said he's considering signing a new executive order banning travel from people of certain countries. The news comes a day after a US federal appeals court upheld a decision to suspended the US President's controversial ban. After angrily tweeting that the ruling put US national security at risk, Trump announced he was mulling a "brand new [...]
Nine ways Donald Trump has already fallen out with American voters February 10, 2017 As the latest batch of polling results are released, Donald Trump finds himself increasingly at odds with both Republican and Democrat voters, it turns out. It's well known Trump’s approval ratings are the worst of any new President – but new figures suggest they have continued to slide since he took office on 20 January. According [...]