German economy picks up pace while Eurozone growth stagnates January 24, 2020 The German economy expanded at its quickest rate in five-months in January suggesting the “storm clouds may be starting to clear”. IHS Markit’s flash composite Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) revealed that growth was up to 51.1 from 50.2 at the end of 2019. It comes as growth in services activity picked up, rising from 52.9 [...]
RBS boss Alison Rose sets aside £1bn for female entrepreneurs January 24, 2020 RBS’ new boss Alison Rose today announced £1bn in funding through Natwest to support female entrepreneurs in the UK. Rose will aim to support the creation of 50,000 startups by 2023 by inspiring half a million people to consider starting a business, of whom at least 60 per cent will be women. Read more: Female [...]
Sonos boss apologises for decision to prevent older speakers receiving updates January 24, 2020 Sonos chief executive Patrick Spence has apologised for a decision to prevent its older speakers from receiving updates. The boss of the tech firm said it would deliver updates to all its product “for as long as possible”. However, Sonos did not retract its earlier decision despite the outrage from customers following the announcement earlier [...]
Just Eat shares fall as CMA probes Takeaway.com merger January 24, 2020 Shares in Just Eat fell three per cent this morning after the UK’s competition regulator launched a last-minute investigation into the proposed merger between delivery giants Just Eat and Takeaway.com. Takeaway.com said that it would revise its timetable by one week, meaning that unless the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) barred the move, shares in [...]
Marston’s toasts ‘strong’ Christmas after challenging 2019 January 24, 2020 Pub group Marston’s raised a glass to a “strong” Christmas this morning as impressive growth over the holiday helped offset a sluggish start to December. In a trading update the firm said that sales growth for the four months to January 18 saw a one per cent increase, but this rose to 4.5 per cent [...]
Wells Fargo’s ex-boss receives lifetime banking ban January 24, 2020 The ex-boss of Wells Fargo has received a lifetime ban from the financial industry and has agreed to pay $17.5m (£13.3m) to settle charges concerning the US bank’s false accounts scandal. John Stumpf cannot work “in any manner” in the finance sector ever again after revelations that the bank set up millions of fake bank [...]
Boris can lead a Conservative council housing revolution January 24, 2020 With Boris Johnson now undisputed world king of the post-Brexit scene, the only relevant policy debates are those going on inside the government itself. These are yielding unusual fruit. Esther McVey, a deep-dyed Thatcherite and an advocate of blue-collar Conservatism, has been arguing for more council housing. The housing minister wants to help those “left [...]
Sweden’s disastrous experiment with rent controls should be a cautionary tale for London January 24, 2020 How to make excellent meatballs, win Eurovision with style, and start a domestic argument over flatpack furniture — Sweden has taught the world so much. But setting aside our love of ABBA and Ikea, there’s another lesson to take from the experiences of our Scandinavian cousins. Sadiq Khan will spend the first half of 2020 [...]
DEBATE: Is it worth scrapping the digital tax for the sake of a UK-US trade deal? January 24, 2020 Is it worth scrapping the planned digital services tax for the sake of a UK-US trade deal? Morgan Schondelmeier, head of development at the Adam Smith Institute, says YES. Europe and the US fundamentally disagree about how to approach tech companies. The US has become a world leader by embracing permissionless innovation and growth, while [...]
Good riddance to the £30,000 immigration salary threshold January 24, 2020 Brexit is coming, in exactly one week’s time. Now it is on to the details — and no area is more crucial to Britain’s future prosperity, nor more associated with the EU debate, than immigration. There are real dangers if we get the new rules wrong. It was therefore a relief to read reports this [...]