Trump warns of heavy tax “consequences” for US firms that head elsewhere December 2, 2016 He'd only just reneged on his pledge to pursue charges against Hillary Clinton over her email saga, but the President-elect isn't softening his stance elsewhere. Donald Trump has warned companies of "consequences" should they look to leave the US, which doesn't sound ominous at all. Speaking in Indiana to take credit for saving 1,000 jobs [...]
Editor’s notes: The uncertain art of measuring the UK’s economic uncertainty December 2, 2016 You may not have seen it on the News at Ten but Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Kristin Forbes delivered a fascinating speech last week on the nature of economic uncertainty and how best it can be measured. As Donald Trump said when he delivered his victory speech, “it’s a complicated business, folks”. [...]
Richmond Park by-election result: Zac Goldsmith loses to Lib Dem candidate Sarah Olney December 2, 2016 Lib Dem candidate Sarah Olney has won the Richmond Park by-election. Olney was running against the constituency's incumbent MP, Zac Goldsmith, and took 20,510 votes against the former Tory's 18,638. The result is a shocking turnaround from the 2015 General Election when Goldsmith commanded 58 per cent of the vote. Goldsmith triggered the by-election by resigning [...]
Faith alone won’t keep the euro alive indefinitely December 2, 2016 The euro is an astonishing achievement. Not, obviously, because it’s been a tremendous economic success: unable to devalue, the economies of much of southern Europe are being gutted, facing gravity-defying rates of unemployment (20 percentage points higher in Greece than in Germany), painful efforts to cut wages to restore competitiveness, and essentially unsolvable debt crises. The [...]
Public Accounts Committee: MPs raise concerns over HM Revenue & Customs’ annual performance December 2, 2016 A key parliamentary oversight committee has criticised the taxman's plans to cut costs and urged authorities to lead the way in combating the opaqueness of multinational corporations' tax affairs. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) today revealed its conclusions within its annual report on HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). Plans are being implemented by HMRC to cut costs by [...]
Italy’s referendum is a litmus test of how populism will drive politics across Europe December 2, 2016 For over two decades, the pace of Italy’s economic growth has lagged that of its major continental peers. Burdened by overly indebted banks, heavy regulation and weak productivity, Europe’s fourth largest economy has made its fair share of financial headlines. On paper, the referendum this weekend only concerns the domestic matter of Italian constitutional reform. In [...]
As the ONS reveals net migration stayed near record levels before Brexit, is it even possible to reduce it? December 2, 2016 Alp Mehmet, vice chairman of Migration Watch UK, says Yes. It is most certainly possible for the UK to reduce migration levels. Our vote to leave the EU gives the government an opportunity to end the free movement of workers, which is what has been driving migration from the EU. The majority (about 80 per [...]
Richmond Park by-election: Shock win for Lib Dem Sarah Olney as voters sack Zac December 2, 2016 In a shock result overnight Liberal Democrat candidate Sarah Olney has defeated Conservative candidate Zac Goldsmith in the race for the Richmond Park constituency. Olney had won 20,502 votes to Goldsmith's 18,638 votes of those counted at around 2am this morning. Read more: The Lib Dems reckon they'll edge Zac Goldsmith tomorrow Goldsmith, also a failed candidate [...]
The Children’s Food Campaign says the FDF’s top UK brands don’t oppose the sugary drinks tax, so the FDF shouldn’t either December 2, 2016 The Children's Food Campaign (CFC) has asked the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) to stop opposing the tax on sugary drinks, claiming its top UK member brands are less aggressively opposed to the duty than the trade association. Out of 55 FDF members contacted by CFC, 14 gave full responses, including Birdseye, Slimfast, Wrigleys, Mars, Weetabix and Haribo. Seven [...]
French President François Hollande is not running for re-election in 2017 December 1, 2016 French President François Hollande has announced that he will not be seeking re-election in 2017. He has become the first sitting president in modern French history not to run for re-election. The Socialist party leader has been facing sliding ratings in opinion polls, with his popularity falling to just four per cent recently. Hollande made the [...]