Wetherspoon to slash prices of drinks on Brexit Day January 20, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is planning to celebrate Brexit by slashing the prices of a selection of drinks on 31 January as the UK leaves the EU. The offer will reduce prices of drinks from across Europe, including Estrella Galicia, Beck’s and Peroni, by around 60p. The promotion – which will run until 29 February [...]
BBC pays Sarah Montague £400,000 in equal pay dispute January 20, 2020 Radio presenter Sarah Montague today revealed that she won £400,000 and an apology from the BBC for being paid “unequally” over many years. Montague, who hosts Radio 4’s World at One, said she secured the settlement last year after a “long period of stressful negotiations”. In a series of tweets this morning, the veteran journalist [...]
HS2 costs could hit £106bn, leaked review warns January 20, 2020 Building HS2 could cost up to £106bn, according to a leaked government-commissioned review that reportedly outlines a 20 per cent rise in costs to the UK infrastructure project. The review into the controversial high-speed rail link project warns of “considerable risk” that costs could balloon further from HS2’s original budget of £32.7bn. The government has [...]
Decarbonisation of shipping to cost over $1 trillion January 20, 2020 The shipping industry must spend at least $1 trillion (£0.8 trillion) on new fuel technology if it is to meet UN emissions targets by 2050. According to a new study by experts from UCL and the Energy Transitions Commission, the minimum average that would need to be spent every year from 2030 is $50bn. Global [...]
CMA launches probe into Future’s TI Media merger January 20, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced today that it is investigating whether Future’s proposed acquisition of TI Media could harm competition. In October 2019, the publisher said it planned to acquire magazine printer TI Media, which owns popular titles Country Life and Marie Claire, for £140m in cash. The CMA said it was considering [...]
Over 1000 EU financial firms planning to open UK offices after Brexit January 20, 2020 More than 1000 banks, asset managers, payments firms and insurers from the European Union are planning to open offices in post-Brexit Britain so they can continue to serve UK clients. The new offices would help financial firms counter the loss of business as unrestricted two-way access between the UK and EU comes to an end [...]
China repeats call for Canada to release Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou January 20, 2020 China called again on Canada today to release detained Huawei finance chief Meng Wanzhou as soon as possible ahead of an extradition hearing. Foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Canada should correct its “mistake” in arresting the executive, who is the daughter of Huawei chief executive Ren Zhengfei. “The resolve of the Chinese government to [...]
Fevertree shares sink 20 per cent as it warns on profit January 20, 2020 Fevertree’s shares plunged today as it warned that “subdued” Christmas trading in the UK would knock 2019 profit lower than last year’s total. The tonic maker now expects revenue growth of 9.7 per cent to £260.5m, compared to 2018’s 40 per cent growth rate. That will see sales miss expectations for 2019, leading Fevertree to [...]
Intu shares fall as it enters talks to raise more money January 20, 2020 Intu today confirmed it will seek to raise equity as it works to patch up its shaky balance sheet after a dreadful 2019 for retailers. The commercial real estate giant today insisted it was making “good progress” on improving its balance sheet, hailing a “busy” Christmas and saying footfall was 0.3 per cent up last [...]
The cost of an international office January 20, 2020 | City Talk From expanding sales to mitigating Brexit risk, many companies are securing presence overseas. Some companies have already set up an office in the EU to avoid trade barriers in the future, others are considering a move or a satellite office in the EU or further afield to take advantage of new opportunities in emerging geographic [...]