Sky News cancels Tory leadership debate after Boris Johnson refuses to take part June 24, 2019 Sky News today said it has cancelled its scheduled debate between the two remaining Tory leadership after Boris Johnson refused to take part. Earlier this month Sky unveiled plans for a head-to-head debate between the last two contenders, which was due to take place tomorrow evening. Read more: Boris Johnson shirks Channel 4 TV debate [...]
Whitbread shares: Waiting for strategy to bear fruit June 24, 2019 | City Talk It’s not easy being a hotelier in this market, but Whitbread shares are holding their own for now. Despite having previously laid the groundwork in guiding expectations lower, Whitbread (LSE:WTB) has delivered a first-quarter update which is light on cheer. Without the diversification and success that Costa brought, the company is now mostly hostage to the cyclical [...]
Londoners brace for summer Tube strike chaos June 24, 2019 Londoners are braced for misery as the RMT rail union prepares to ballot its members on a summer Tube strike on Wednesday. The RMT claims it is being hurt by staff job cuts and privatisation under Transport for London’s (TfL) cost-cutting programme, which has seen it slash back office costs by about 30 per cent [...]
Lloyds freezes 8,000 offshore bank accounts June 24, 2019 Lloyds Banking Group has frozen about 8,000 bank accounts registered offshore after asking the customers for three years to prove their identities. The banking giant, which has its international business in Jersey, was forced to take action in order to meet regulatory requirements. Read more: Deutsche Bank faces US money laundering investigation The move to [...]
AI software market posts huge growth amid digital transformation boom June 24, 2019 Revenue from AI software soared more than 63 per cent to $846m (£664m) last year amid a surge in firms investing in the new technology. Read more: David Cameron takes up role at US artificial intelligence firm Robotic process automation (RPA), which provides AI tools for businesses, is now the fastest-growing segment of the enterprise [...]
‘A dozen’ Tory MPs could back no confidence vote for no-deal Brexit June 24, 2019 A group of Conservative MPs could put their weight behind a vote of no confidence to block a no-deal Brexit, a junior defence minister warned today. Tobias Ellwood told the BBC that “a dozen or so” Tory MPs would use the measure, which could topple the government and trigger an election, if the UK left [...]
German business confidence hits lowest level since 2014 June 24, 2019 German company managers were at their most pessimistic about the economy since the end of 2014 in June, according to the country’s Ifo Institute think tank. Read more: German think tank says receding manufacturing sector damaging growth Meanwhile managers’ views of business prospects in the next half year fell for the third straight month, Ifo’s [...]
Brexit: Irish backstop alternative could work ‘within three years’ June 24, 2019 A “practical” solution to the Brexit deadlock over the so-called Irish backstop could be in place within three years, according to a cross-party group of MPs. A resolution could enable the UK and EU to scrap the controversial backstop, which led parliament to reject Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal three times. Read more: 150,000 [...]
H2O sells private bonds and cancels fund entry fees June 24, 2019 H2O, the UK-based asset management arm of Natixis, has sold some of its private bonds portfolio and cancelled entry fees to attract new investors to its funds. The firm cut non-rated private bonds to below two per cent of assets under management after struggling with outflows. Read more: H2O shrugs off conflict of interest concerns [...]
‘No evidence’ of Russian interference in Brexit vote, says Facebook exec Nick Clegg June 24, 2019 Facebook’s vice-president Sir Nick Clegg has insisted there was “absolutely no evidence” Russia used the social media platform to influence the Brexit referendum. The former deputy prime minister said his firm had carried out analyses on its data and found no “significant attempt” by outside forces to influence the vote, arguing British politics had been [...]