Poland breaks ranks with EU to propose five-year time limit on Brexit backstop January 21, 2019 The EU’s chief negotiator today insisted the Brexit deal negotiated with Theresa May is set in stone, as Poland broke ranks to suggest a key change to the agreement. Michel Barnier told Irish broadcaster RTE that “the withdrawal agreement with all its dimensions, including the backstop, is the best deal possible” this afternoon. Read more: [...]
Leavers begin to sense it could be May’s Brexit or no Brexit at all January 21, 2019 The pre-decimal penny seems to have finally dropped for arch-Brexiteer and 'member for the 19th century' Jacob Rees-Mogg, who declared over the weekend that “Mrs May's deal would be better than not leaving at all.” While he insisted that he would still prefer a no-deal exit to the withdrawal deal negotiated by the Prime Minister, [...]
UK households downbeat over finances despite slowing growth in living costs January 21, 2019 Living costs have risen at the slowest rate in three years this month, however UK households remained downbeat due to concerns over job security, lower cash availability and pessimism over the UK housing market. The Household Finance Index, which measures household's perceptions of financial wellbeing, increased in January to a three-month high of 44.8 but [...]
Davos is a chance for the UK to step-up and collaborate in the digital revolution January 21, 2019 After the drama of last week in Westminster, it’s the 49th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum that will take centre stage over the next few days. I will join more than 100 heads of government, as well the globe’s leading companies, international organisations, and NGOs in making the annual visit to Davos. Brexit [...]
Ireland will not negotiate with UK over Brexit backstop, says minister January 21, 2019 Sterling dipped this morning as Ireland said it would not negotiate separately with the UK over Theresa May’s Brexit deal. The Prime Minister was hoping to sign a treaty with Ireland to remove the so-called Irish backstop from her unpopular withdrawal agreement, according to The Sunday Times. Read more: May must battle MPs trying to delay [...]
Petition to unseat Dominic Grieve reaches 10,000 signatures ahead of Plan B amendment January 21, 2019 A petition calling for the deselection of MP Dominic Grieve has reached 10,000 signatures amid claims he is trying to “overturn” Brexit through an amendment to May's Brexit deal. The online petition calling on the Tory party to unseat Grieve, launched seven months ago, has seen a surge in support amid a parliamentary deadlock over Brexit. [...]
William Hill confirms lower 2018 profits as it comes close to securing £242m Mr Green & Co purchase January 21, 2019 William Hill today confirmed a likely fall in profits for 2018, revealing its bottom line will be 15 per cent down on the year before. Shares dipped by 2.6 per cent in early trading today after falling five per cent when the betting firm first warned of the profit drop last November. Read more: William [...]
UK dividends hit record-breaking high in 2018 January 21, 2019 UK dividend payments rose to a record £99.8bn last year driven by rising profits and better than expected special dividends. British American Tobacco accounted for almost one fifth of the increase in UK dividends as it paid out an additional £900m over the course of 2018, entering the UK top five for the first time, according [...]
London house prices fell 1.5 per cent in December as Brexit bites January 21, 2019 The average asking price for London houses fell 1.5 per cent in December compared to the previous month as Brexit uncertainty continued to dampen the capital’s property market, according to figures released today. Figures from the latest Rightmove House Price Index showed the average asking price for a London home is now just under £594,000. [...]
UK businesses reduce spending on redundancy payments despite Brexit uncertainty January 21, 2019 UK businesses reduced their spending on redundancy payments last year despite the uncertainty surrounding Brexit, a law firm has found. Commercial law firm EMW said spending on redundancy payments dropped to £3.6bn by the end of March last year, from £3.8bn the previous year despite the prediction that Brexit would cause widespread job losses. The total number [...]