Cummings squares off over Grieve’s Brexit threat August 7, 2019 The Prime Minister’s most senior adviser Dominic Cummings has issued a veiled threat to the former attorney general as the two square off over Brexit. Backbencher and serial Remainer rebel Dominic Grieve had previously argued that Cummings was “simply wrong” to state that MPs would not be able to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Grieve, the [...]
Commerzbank warns its 2019 profit target now looks ‘ambitious’ August 7, 2019 Germany’s second-biggest lender Commerzbank said its net profit was unchanged in the second quarter from a year earlier, as it described “a very challenging environment”. Commerzbank, which was set to merge with its bigger rival Deutsche Bank this year before the deal fell through, said its target of a slight year-on-year increase in net income [...]
Flutter Entertainment struggles in face of betting tax hikes as profit plunges August 7, 2019 Flutter Entertainment, the gambling group formerly known as Paddy Power Betfair, has suffered a difficult first six months under its new moniker, with profits falling by a quarter as significant betting tax increases kicked in. Firms in the gambling sector are trying to counteract the new regulation by boosting revenues. Flutter succeeded in doing this, [...]
UK house prices suffer surprise July fall as housing market ‘treads water’ August 7, 2019 UK house prices continued to “tread water” in July as they slipped 0.2 per cent month on month, Halifax warned today. However, annual growth rose 4.1 per cent thanks to the housing market’s poor performance in 2018, the bank’s latest house price index found. Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: “The average UK house [...]
Standard Life Aberdeen profits down despite asset increase August 7, 2019 Standard Life Aberdeen has seen a modest increase in assets under management and a slow in outflows but this has failed to stop its profits from dropping in the first half. The figures The asset manager reported adjusted pre-tax profits of £280m for the first half of the year, down from £311m for the same [...]
Food industry calls for competition laws to be lifted for no-deal Brexit August 7, 2019 The UK’s food industry has called on Boris Johnson to ditch parts of competition law, allowing firms to work together in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has warned that leaving on 31 October without a transition in place could cause widespread supply issues, leaving British consumers either going [...]
German factory production slumps in June raising recession fears August 7, 2019 German industrial production fell by much more than expected in June, raising fears that Europe’s biggest economy contracted in the second quarter. Read more: Eurozone construction sector held back by Germany in July Factories in Germany produced 1.5 per cent less in June than they did in May, far less than the 0.4 per cent [...]
John McDonnell slammed by own MP for “thoughtless rant” on Scottish independence August 7, 2019 John McDonnell has come under attack from his own party after saying Labour would not stand in the way of a second independence referendum in Scotland. Speaking at an Edinburgh Fringe event yesterday, shadow chancellor McDonnell said the party was split on the issue, but would not stand in its way. “We would not block [...]
Ofgem lowers energy price cap by £75 for millions of customers August 7, 2019 Households will be left with a smaller windfall than expected as Ofgem this morning slashed the energy price cap for millions of energy customers by a smaller sum than expected. The regulator said that it would decrease the cap on default tariffs to £1,179 per year for the average household from the beginning of October, [...]
Heavy metal: FTSE 100 miner Glencore earnings crash as copper prices sink August 7, 2019 Glencore earnings dived 32 per cent to $5.6bn in the first half of 2019, the miner confirmed this morning, as it blamed poor performance in its African mines and lower prices for copper and cobalt. The figures Glencore’s earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (Ebitda) slumped 32 per cent year on year to $5.6bn. [...]