Under Armour boss backtracks after calling Donald Trump an “asset to this country” as analyst downgrades stock February 16, 2017 Kevin Plank hasn't had the best week. The Under Armour chief executive came under fire for his comments on Donald Trump, after giving an interview to CNBC last week saying: "To have such a pro-business President is something that is a real asset to this country." It caused a backlash, including from some of Under [...]
Founders not scroungers: There’s a business case for welcoming refugees February 16, 2017 As the legal battle rages on around Donald Trump’s chaotic travel ban and moratorium on refugees, you could be forgiven for thinking that the West faces an existential threat unparalleled in its history. Yet as politicians rush to placate and at times inflate public fears about the negative impact of refugees on jobs, public services [...]
Winning the battle for completely free trade post-Brexit will vastly increase UK prosperity February 16, 2017 Economists for Free Trade (of which I’m part) is launching today to make the case for the UK to run completely free trade once we leave the EU in 2019. Our aim is simple. We want Britain to lead the world on free trade. Our group has been formed to fight the battle which needs [...]
As the EU sends an envoy to Greece to salvage the debt deal, would the Eurozone survive Grexit? February 16, 2017 Carsten Hesse, emerging European equity strategist at Berenberg, says Yes. Although tensions are flaring up again, it remains highly unlikely that Greece will leave the Eurozone. It has already done 80-90 per cent of the required fiscal repair and structural reforms and two-thirds of Greeks want to keep the euro. The current noise sounds like [...]
Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins wants to help out with the government’s review of modern employment February 15, 2017 Pimlico Plumbers boss Charlie Mullins wants to get involved with the government's review of modern employment – after losing an appeal against a former worker last week. The plumbing boss has requested an "urgent" meeting with Matthew Taylor, Tony Blair's former adviser and head of the government review, in the wake of the Appeals Court ruling [...]
British steelworkers vote in favour of Tata’s reforms to pensions February 15, 2017 Steelworkers in three unions have voted in favour of proposals that will see their pensions benefits cut. The proposals will see Tata Steel pump £1bn into the sprawling Port Talbot steelworks in exchange for workers accepting changes to their pension schemes. More than 70 per cent of the steelworker members of GMB, Community and Unite [...]
Nigel Farage is staying away from the rest of the Stoke by-election campaign, even though it features his successor February 15, 2017 Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage is to give the Stoke Central by-election a wide berth, despite the fact that his successor is currently battling to enter parliament in the midlands constituency. Current Ukip boss Paul Nuttall is among the candidates to replace former Labour MP Tristram Hunt, who quit to take over London's V&A museum. However, while Farage [...]
Industrial strategy needs a three-pillared approach to boost British productivity February 15, 2017 It is clear that government intervention is required to address faltering productivity across the UK, and that this could be a positive step towards meeting the underlying structural challenges facing the UK economy, such as regional inequality and low wage growth. The government has now released its industrial strategy to address such issues. So how does [...]
EU negotiator Guy Verhofstadt says Sir Winston Churchill would have voted Remain February 15, 2017 The European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt yesterday accused the Brexit movement of destroying Sir Winston Churchill's legacy. Verhofstadt told MEPs in Strasbourg that Churchill would have voted to Remain in last June's referendum. "In May 1947, in the Albert Hall in London Churchill, the British Bulldog, made it very clear what he wanted. And [...]
A tale of two Eurozones: Greater Germany and Club Med are drifting ever further apart February 15, 2017 At the end of last week Federica Mogherini met leading members of the Trump administration. Mogherini, yet another Italian politician turned Euro-bureaucrat, is in fact the foreign policy chief of the European Union. She stood on her dignity, or rather the dignity of the European Commission, issuing a warning to America not to interfere with [...]