Two surveys say business confidence plumbing depths on Brexit crisis October 30, 2019 Two surveys of UK business leaders published today show plunging confidence as the country’s political crisis drags on. Accountancy firm BDO found business leaders in the UK were the least confident of any major European country, with two thirds of respondents believing the economic climate will deteriorate over the next six months and only 10 [...]
It’s on: Christmas election to decide fate of Brexit… maybe October 29, 2019 VOTERS will be given an opportunity to break the impasse in parliament in just over a month, after MPs finally backed the Prime Minister’s efforts to go to the polls. A snap election will take place on 12 December – the first December vote since 1923 – with parties gearing up for a bruising battle [...]
Could London hold the election key? October 29, 2019 Parliament has been bracing itself for an election for weeks – but that doesn’t mean MPs are ready, or happy, about the prospect. Labour MPs have been most vocal about it, with divisions between the Leader of the Opposition’s office (LOTO) and the rest of the party laid bare as MPs reacted with dismay and [...]
Two Sainsbury’s executives to step down in boardroom shake up October 29, 2019 The new chairman of Sainsbury’s is planning a major boardroom reshuffle as the UK’s third-biggest supermarket tries to move on from the collapse of its planned £15bn merger with Asda. Read more: Sainsbury’s heir to the thrown quits to join media powerhouse WPP Google’s Europe operations chief Matt Brittin and ex-Marks and Spencer executive Jean [...]
Pound climbs on General Election news but traders foresee rocky ride October 29, 2019 The pound jumped today after it became clear the Labour party would back a December General Election, but it has since settled back down as traders steeled themselves for a volatile six weeks. Read more: Labour to back PM’s call for December General Election Sterling has had an extremely rocky few months. It hit a [...]
Fourth time lucky as MPs back Boris Johnson for December election October 29, 2019 MPs have finally agreed to back Prime Minister Boris Johnson and go to the polls, voting in favour of a snap election this December. Today marked Johnson’s fourth attempt at persuading parliament to agree an election, with previous efforts failing for lack of certainty around the date. MPs voted 438 to 20 in favour of [...]
British satellite giant Inmarsat gets green light for $3.4bn takeover October 29, 2019 The government has given the green light for a $3.4bn (£2.6bn) private equity buyout of British satellite giant Inmarsat. Read more: Satellite firm Inmarsat ditches dividend ahead of $3.4bn private equity takeover Culture secretary Nicky Morgan today said she has waved through the merger after accepting a series of remedies put forward by Inmarsat and [...]
Ten ex-Tory rebels set to have the whip restored by Boris Johnson October 29, 2019 Ten of the 21 expelled ex-Tory rebel MPs have had the whip restored by Boris Johnson, including Winston Churchill’s grandson Nicholas Soames. Read more: Tory rebels vote with Labour to help prevent a no-deal Brexit Soames, Alistair Burt, Caroline Nokes, Greg Clark, Ed Vaizey, Margot James, Stephen Hammond, Steve Brine, Richard Harrington and Richard Benyon [...]
Boeing chief executive accused of lying as senators grill him on 737 Max crashes October 29, 2019 Boeing chief executive Dennis Muilenburg faced accusations of lying this afternoon during a bruising hearing on how his company certified its 737 Max jet to fly, after two crashes in the last year killed 346 people. Muilenburg, who was last month stripped of the dual role of chief executive and chairman, has spent much of [...]
Spending watchdog to publish forecasts despite scrapping of Budget October 29, 2019 The UK’s tax and spending watchdog has said it will publish an updated version of its March fiscal forecasts next month, despite chancellor Sajid Javid cancelling his Budget due to the Brexit extension. Read more: Chancellor Sajid Javid admits 31 October Brexit deadline ‘can’t be met’ The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) also said that [...]