Heathrow breaks through 80m passenger mark as it plans for expansion January 11, 2019 A record-breaking 80m passengers travelled through Heathrow last year as the airport reaped the rewards of larger planes and an increase in bookings. Heathrow saw its passenger numbers rise 2.7 per cent in 2018 on the year before, becoming one of only seven airports in the world to surpass the 80m mark. December was a [...]
Facebook launches UK fact-checking programme to fight fake news January 11, 2019 Facebook today said it will roll out its fact-checking service in the UK to help deal with the fake news that has plagued its platform in recent years. The social media giant will work with fact-checking charity Full Fact to review and rate the accuracy of posts on its site. Facebook said the programme will [...]
Top Brexit donors Odey and Hargreaves say Britain will not leave the EU January 11, 2019 Two of the Leave campaign's biggest donors believe Brexit will not happen as time runs out for the government to finalise its plan for leaving the EU. Peter Hargreaves and Crispin Odey, who both donated vast sums to the Brexit campaign, told Reuters today that they now expect the UK’s referendum decision to be reversed. [...]
Christmas shoppers shunned the high street, but attacking Amazon won’t help January 11, 2019 Between the fierce renewal of the Brexit saga, parliamentary shenanigans, and a particularly chilling cold front (interpret that literally or metaphorically, as you will), the merriness of Christmas feels like a thing of the past. But for the high street, it feels like Christmas never came at all. Reports of retail sales, released yesterday by [...]
Mark Kleinman’s big predictions for the Square Mile in 2019 January 11, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s WPP exit, Unilever’s HQ U-turn, Melrose’s swoop for GKN: 2018 was a year full of surprises in the City. And while forecasting might be a fool’s errand, here are 10 predictions for the year ahead. •Theresa May will decisively lose next week’s “meaningful vote” on Brexit: that’s not a punt that will [...]
Editor’s Notes: Brexit: An Uncivil War was a five-star blockbuster for Channel 4 January 11, 2019 Brexit drama may be playing out all around us but it had its own silver screen moment earlier this week when Channel 4 aired its much-hyped drama, Brexit – The Uncivil War, by acclaimed writer James Graham. The drama drew heavily on the masterful account of the referendum campaign, All Out War, by Tim Shipman. [...]
City firms draft in extra staff for crunch Brexit deal vote in preparation for market volatility and investor calls January 11, 2019 The City is bracing itself for next week’s crunch vote on Theresa May’s Brexit deal with banks drafting in extra staff to work through the night responding to market volatility and investor calls. MPs will finally vote on the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement on Tuesday after a month's delay, with traders, investors and analysts on [...]
City of London Corporation warns against second Brexit vote January 10, 2019 City of London Corporation councillors have voted overwhelmingly against supporting a second referendum on Brexit, as the House of Commons wrangles over how to proceed in the likely event it votes against the Prime Minister’s deal next week. The court of common council, the Square Mile's historic legislative body, today debated a motion by councillor [...]
Insurer Axa to shift jobs to Dublin in Brexit move January 10, 2019 Insurer Axa is moving staff to Ireland in the light of the UK’s impending exit from the EU. Chief executive of the French insurer Thomas Buberl told reporters today that Axa’s recently acquired XL unit had already made plans to move staff to Ireland from the UK before its takeover by Axa last year. Buberl [...]
Japanese PM Shinzo Abe says the ‘whole world’ wants to avoid a ‘no deal’ Brexit January 10, 2019 The “whole world” wants to see a ‘no deal’ Brexit avoided, according the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Flanking Theresa May at a press conference in Downing Street on Thursday evening, Abe dialled up the pressure on MPs planning to vote down the Brexit agreement. Around 1,000 companies in the UK are funded with Japanese [...]