International Trade Secretary Liam Fox yet to seal a single free trade agreement in case of no-deal Brexit January 19, 2019 The UK is yet to finalise any of the 40 free trade deals that the EU has with other big economies in case of a no-deal Brexit. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox said he was hopeful of deals being done before the UK is due to leave the EU on March 29 but insisted it [...]
Customs union compromise could open the door to renewed talks on Brexit, says commissioner January 19, 2019 Britain could clear the way to reaching an agreement on the Brexit deal if it rows back on a commitment to leave the EU’s customs union, according to a senior commissioner within the bloc. Prime Minister Theresa May is still in a stand-off with opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, halting her last minute bid to [...]
Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin defends column copying in pub magazine January 18, 2019 Wetherspoons boss Tim Martin has defended the decision to reprint newspaper columns in his pub chain’s magazine, but admitted he was not sure about the intricacies of copyright law. The no-frills pub chain raised eyebrows today after it emerged its free magazine, Wetherspoon News, had lifted articles from national newspapers and magazines. Read more: JD Wetherspoon [...]
Murdoch eyes up mega-merger between The Times and The Sunday Times January 18, 2019 Media baron Rupert Murdoch is seeking permission to merge The Times and The Sunday Times in a bid to cut costs across the newspapers. News UK, the holding group for the two titles, has made an application to the government to overturn a law that prevents the titles from merging. Read more: ITV shares tumble [...]
Boris Johnson says delaying Article 50 would erode trust in politicians January 18, 2019 Boris Johnson warned today that politicians risk losing the electorate's trust if they were to delay Brexit by extending Article 50 beyond 29 March. In a speech at building machinery giant JCB’s headquarters in Staffordshire this morning, he said: “It's overwhelmingly likely we will get a deal, a good deal – we just won't get [...]
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow set to be denied peerage by Theresa May January 18, 2019 Ministers have moved to block House of Commons Speaker John Bercow from being offered a seat in the House of Lords in a bid to punish him for Brexit debate “bias”. Bercow would become the first speaker in 230 years to have his peerage blocked as they are usually automatically offered a seat in the [...]
Retail sales fall as ‘suffocating’ Brexit uncertainty envelopes UK high streets January 18, 2019 Retailers suffered a weak end to 2018 as Brexit uncertainty saw shoppers spending less in the face of Brexit uncertainty, the latest data shows today. Sales fell 0.9 per cent month on month in December as shoppers kept their purses closed, the Office for National Statistics data revealed. Read more: All the high street giants [...]
Lloyds prepares for Brexit with Berlin banking licence January 18, 2019 Lloyds Banking Group has secured a banking license for its Berlin subsidiary as the Brexit deadline date approaches. The lender has previously run the office on a standard passporting licence, however all British banks with customers in the EU could lose the licence after March 29 therefore Lloyds is seeking further regulatory approval, Reuters reported. [...]
Ryanair slashes profit guidance by €100m amid falling revenue January 18, 2019 Ryanair today issued a profit warning, saying it was reducing its full-year profit guidance by €100m (£88m) due to a drop in revenue from winter fares. The budget airline said it expects profit after tax of between €1bn and €1.1bn, down from a range of €1.1bn to €1.2bn. Read more: Ryanair profits slide as strikes, cheaper [...]
Theresa May tells Corbyn to drop ‘impossible’ demand of ruling out a no deal Brexit January 17, 2019 Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn are at loggerheads after the Prime Minister refused to give in to Labour’s “impossible condition” of ruling out a no deal Brexit. In a letter to the Labour leader, May urged her opposite number to drop the demand – which is Corbyn’s precondition for any cross-party talks on breaking the [...]