Update UK electoral law on political ads, says Facebook November 7, 2019 Facebook has called for UK politicians to regulate online political adverts, and said Britain’s electoral law “needs to be brought into the 21st century” as they defended the social media giant’s controversial decision to allow political adverts on its platform. Head of UK public policy Rebecca Stimson said Facebook was “better prepared than ever before” [...]
UK lowers security risk for Straits of Hormuz shipping November 7, 2019 The UK today lowered the security risk for UK-flagged tankers travelling through the Straits of Hormuz, more than a month after the Stena Impero was released from detention by Iran. The Gulf state’s revolutionary guards seized the British tanker was seized in response to Britain’s capture of an Iranian vessel off Gibraltar. Read more: Saudi [...]
HSBC receives second Bank of England warning over ‘non-financial risks’ November 7, 2019 HSBC has received a second warning from the Bank of England over its lack of progress tackling so-called non-financial risks, according to people familiar with the matter. Read more: ‘Not acceptable’: Profit sinks at HSBC Samir Assaf, chief of global banking and markets at the lender, told other executives on a call this week that [...]
Wetherspoon faces backlash over Brexit campaign spending November 7, 2019 Investors have been urged to oppose JD Wetherspoon’s financial report over its failure to get shareholder approval for pro-Brexit spending. Influential shareholder advisory firm Pirc said Wetherspoon had not cleared referendum campaign spending, which included £94,856 on almost 2m pro-leave beer mats ahead of the 2016 vote. Read more: Wetherspoon’s boss Tim Martin slams elite [...]
Aston Martin is hoping next year’s James Bond movie will boost sales November 7, 2019 The chief executive of ailing luxury car manufacturer Aston Martin hopes next year’s James Bond movie will give the firm a financial boost. Shortly after announcing the company had fallen to a £13.5m loss in the third quarter of the year, Andy Palmer said the series usually gives Aston Martin a lift in China, a [...]
US stock markets rise as Beijing and Washington agree to scrap some tariffs November 7, 2019 US stock markets have opened higher after China said it had agreed with the US to cancel tariffs in phases, signalling a thawing of the frosty trade relations between the world’s two biggest economies. Read more: European markets rise on US-China trade war hopes The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose by 0.7 per cent shortly after opening, [...]
Commerzbank forecasts profit drop amid challenging conditions November 7, 2019 Commerzbank has warned that its profit for the year will be below previous expectations, as lower for longer interest rates take their toll on the German banking giant. Citing the negative impact of monetary policy and geopolitical uncertainty, the lender said that net profit for the year would be lower than last year. Read more: [...]
Ikea shrugs off retail gloom to post sales rise November 7, 2019 Ikea reported an increase in full-year sales as it managed to overcome the challenges facing the UK retail market. Sales in Ikea’s UK business were up eight per cent year on year to £2.1bn, the retailer said in its annual report. Read more: Ikea to face tax repayment order from EU The company reported that [...]
Brexit inspires Collins’ first-ever ‘Brexicon’ November 7, 2019 The Collins Dictionary put a spin on its annual word of the year announcement today by releasing its ‘Brexicon’, a list of ten words brought to prominence by Brexit – “for better or for worse.” ‘Cakeism’ – a wish to enjoy two desirable and incompatible alternatives – rubs shoulders with ‘Brexiety’ – a state of [...]
Revealed: These are London’s most overcrowded Tube lines November 7, 2019 London’s Tube lines are running at overcapacity during morning rush hour, new figures have revealed. Statistics from mayor of London Sadiq Khan show that morning peak hour capacity on the London Underground is more than 100 per cent, with the Northern, Central and Jubilee lines the most crowded. Read more: TfL adds more trains to [...]