Last ever British EU commissioner pledges allegiance to Brussels September 12, 2016 The man set to become the UK's last ever European commissioner has pledged to work solely for Europe's best interests in a "marathon" hearing before members of the European Parliament. Julian King, currently the UK's ambassador to France, was announced as successor to Lord Jonathan Hill, who resigned straight after the EU referendum, having been in [...]
As Cameron steps down, Osborne plots a way to protect his own political legacy September 12, 2016 Former chancellor George Osborne is close to launching a new think tank to keep alive one of his flagship policies, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. Osborne is said to be in the final stages of establishing a project focused on his Northern Powerhouse agenda, a central tenet of his economic and political thinking, designed to boost [...]
Hammond highlights growing importance of non-EU trade September 12, 2016 Discussions between chancellor Philip Hammond and some of the UK’s biggest exporters focused yesterday on the growing importance of trade with non-EU countries. Hammond hosted representatives from Honda, GlaxoSmithKline, Airbus, and Scotch Whisky Association at Downing Street. UK exports have more than doubled over the last 17 years, with over half of total, making up [...]
Tata Europe posts an operating profit as group losses mount September 12, 2016 Indian steel giant Tata has slumped to a net loss of 31.8bn rupees (£358m) for its latest quarter due to continued uncertainty over its UK operations. However, the European division, which includes the Port Talbot steelworks, eked out an operating profit of £90m during the quarter. Sterling weakness and an extensive cost cutting programme were [...]
Canada firm to buy Dell-EMC unit for $1.62bn September 12, 2016 Opentext Corp, a Canadian business software maker, is buying Dell-EMC’s enterprise content division for $1.62bn (£1.21bn). The move is one of the last remaining non-core asset disposals Dell needs to make following its deal to acquire data storage company EMC for $63bn last year, the largest tech deal in history. Opentext is looking to expand its [...]
Top EU referendum campaigners launch new lobbying firm September 12, 2016 David Cameron’s former director of strategy has teamed up with Vote Leave rivals to launch a new public affairs agency. Ameet Gill, a long-time Cameron advisor, and Paul Stephenson, head of PR for Vote Leave have today unveiled Hanbury Strategy, claiming to offer clients the best of both worlds, with voices from both sides of the referendum [...]
As Hillary Clinton recovers from pneumonia, should markets worry about the state of her health? September 12, 2016 Mike van Dulken, head of research at Accendo Markets, says Yes. Markets are right to be concerned about the health of the US Democratic presidential nominee. First, they had increasingly been pricing in her beating Republican rival Donald Trump, who could be disruptive for the economy, and this health scare calls that into question. Everyone [...]
We want you bake: BBC makes plea for Great British Bake Off maker to accept “very strong offer” September 12, 2016 The BBC is set to lose the Great British Bake Off after the current series. The company behind the show, which stars Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood, has said it has been unable to reach a renewal agreement with the corporation. Read more: Brands set to benefit from Bake Off’s return A BBC spokesperson said: [...]
Conservative peer Baroness Stroud to become chief executive of Legatum Institute September 12, 2016 Baroness Philippa Stroud has been appointed the new chief executive of economic think tank the Legatum Institute. The Conservative life peer, who helped to found the Centre for Social Justice with Iain Duncan Smith and worked with him at the Department for Work and Pensions, will join the group to "lead its mission to promote the ideas and [...]
Doves back on top as key Fed member eases on US rate hike September 12, 2016 The chances of the Fed raising rates for the second time since the financial crisis next week has been dealt another blow as a key rate-setter said the case for a hike had fallen away. Lael Brainard, seen as one of the most cautious voices on the rate-setting federal open markets committee (FOMC), said the arguments in [...]