Coronavirus: England to ban meetings of more than six people September 8, 2020 Boris Johnson will tomorrow ban social gatherings of more than six people in a tightening of England’s coronavirus restrictions. The Prime Minister will announce at a press conference that the new limit, which will be cut down from 30, will apply indoors and outdoors and for people of all ages from Monday. The change is [...]
City of London slams government plans to override EU deal September 8, 2020 The City of London Corporation has sharply criticised the government’s plans to override some parts of the EU withdrawal agreement, warning it could “seriously damage” the UK’s relationship with its biggest trading partner. Speaking at a webinar, the Corporation’s head of policy Catherine McGuinness also said the government appeared to have forgotten about the financial [...]
Furlough scheme: UK looking at 27,000 potential fraud cases September 8, 2020 The UK’s tax authority is looking into 27,000 potential cases of fraud relating to the government’s furlough scheme. HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC) probes have already led to an arrest of one person who has been suspected of fraud and there are a “number of active investigations”, according to the Prime Minister’s spokesman. HMRC’s top [...]
Brexit: Top UK civil service lawyer quits over Downing Street row September 8, 2020 The chief of the government’s legal department has resigned over Boris Johnson’s plans to alter some of the terms of the Brexit withdrawal agreement. Jonathan Jones, the Treasury’s solicitor and permanent secretary of the Government Legal Department, reportedly resigned his position after a row with Downing Street over suggestions that Johnson was preparing to breach [...]
China accuses other countries of ‘bullying’ its tech firms September 8, 2020 China has pointed the finger at “individual countries” that it says are “bullying” others and “hunting” its tech companies, as tensions between Beijing and Washington continue to mount. It announced an initiative to establish global standards on data security today, in a similar strategy to the Trump administration’s Clean Network. The plan asks technology firms [...]
Ireland’s Mairead McGuinness picked to be next EU finance boss September 8, 2020 Ireland’s Mairead McGuinness is set to take over as the EU’s financial services commissioner as part of a mini reshuffle prompted by her fellow countryman Phil Hogan’s resignation. Former Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis has been chosen to fill Hogan’s prestigious position as EU trade chief. He was previously in charge of financial services and [...]
‘No time for a show of virility’: Sadiq Khan on getting London moving again September 7, 2020 One of the largest criticisms of Sadiq Khan over his first mayoral term has been that he is more concerned about his personal PR and with making political gestures than with his job of running the nation’s capital. The mayor of London has been beset by attacks that he has increased spending on City Hall [...]
Brexit: Boris Johnson plans to breach withdrawal agreement to put trade talks in peril September 7, 2020 Boris Johnson is planning on bringing forward legislation this week that would reportedly put the UK in breach of its Brexit withdrawal agreement and would likely blow up trade negotiations with Brussels. The government will put forward its internal market bill on Wednesday, which will contain clauses that eliminate parts of the withdrawal agreement pertaining [...]
What could a Biden presidency mean for climate change investing? September 7, 2020 | City Talk Joe Biden in the White House, and potentially Democrats in control of the Senate too, could turbo-charge climate change as an investment theme. The US response to Covid-19 looks set to be the dominant election issue as we head towards the November polls. Myriad other issues also compete for voters’ attention, and climate change often [...]
Everybody loves a comeback and London’s could be glorious September 7, 2020 | Sponsored Given the amount of time we’ve spent in front of our TVs over the past few months, you’ll have no doubt seen the Government’s Brexit commercial which tells us to get prepared and get going for the UK’s new start. It ends, rather beautifully, with an aircraft taking off, presumably full of representatives from Britain’s [...]