Parlez-vous Français? Paris’ finance sector gets ready to seize post-Brexit opportunities December 15, 2020 Paris’ claims to be Europe’s culture and culinary capital are well known, however its finance credentials are somewhat less established. The City of Light ranked behind London, Zurich, Luxembourg, Geneva, Frankfurt and even Edinburgh in the World Bank’s Global Financial Centres Index for 2020. However, with Brexit around the corner, and no full EU equivalence [...]
PM to visit India in January in bid to bolster economic ties December 15, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson will fly to India in January 2021 in an effort to strengthen economic and political relations between the two countries. It will be Johnson’s first major bilateral visit since becoming PM, and will come soon after the UK leaves the EU single market at the end of the post-Brexit transition period [...]
Fines, bans and directors liable: Government plans Big Tech crackdown December 15, 2020 The government is set to announce sweeping new measures for social media companies, as part of a crackdown on big tech. Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden and Home Secretary Priti Patel will today propose plans to hand Ofcom considerable powers over social media firms. Ofcom handed new powers The regulator will be able to fine companies [...]
Foreign aid isn’t charity, it’s an investment in our own prosperity December 15, 2020 When he announced his decision to cut UK foreign aid spending from 0.7 per cent to 0.5 per cent of GDP, chancellor Rishi Sunak, argued that the sum was hard to justify to the British people during a pandemic. In fact, it is not so hard. Aid is not charity, and its benefits are neither [...]
Number of homeless deaths in England and Wales hit record high December 14, 2020 An estimated 778 people died while homeless last year in England and Wales, an increase of 7.2 per cent from 2018.
Michel Barnier warns MEPS of short no-deal Brexit period even if deal closed this year December 14, 2020 Brussels’ chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has warned MEPs today that there could still be a short period where the UK and EU have to operate on no-deal terms even if a trade deal is struck before 31 December. Barnier reportedly told an emergency meeting with MEPs this morning that there may not be enough [...]
Britain has ‘most to lose from Brexit’, says French finance minister December 14, 2020 The French finance minister Bruno Le Maire has said that he believes the UK has more to lose from Brexit than the EU. “The British people will be the biggest losers from Brexit … Brexit, to use an expression of the late John Le Carre is a political, economic and historical folly,” Le Maire told France info radio. Le [...]
Liz Truss officially signs UK-Switzerland services deal December 14, 2020 International trade secretary Liz Truss has today signed a rollover services agreement with the Swiss government that will ensure UK companies and professionals can work in Switzerland for up to 90 days a year. The deal, closed two weeks ago, will benefit industries such as financial services, legal services, consultancy, the tech sector and the creative [...]
Brexit will not affect UK vaccine supplies, says business secretary December 14, 2020 UK Business Secretary said that a no-deal Brexit will not affect supplies of the Pfizer/BioNtech Covid-19 vaccine.
Pound jumps more than one per cent after Brexit talks extended December 14, 2020 Investors have driven the pound up more than one per cent against the dollar and euro amid optimism about the extension of Brexit talks. Yesterday, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen agreed to “go the extra mile” and extend the deadline for trade talks. Von der Leyen said [...]