Housebuilder Crest Nicholson issues profit warning blaming tough market conditions October 17, 2018 Housebuilder Crest Nicholson has issued a profit warning and announced that its chief financial officer (CFO) is leaving the business. It is the housebuilder’s third profit warning in two years with the company blaming the difficult market and the uncertain political environment. Read more: Profits surge at housebuilder Bellway but Brexit caution lingers The FTSE [...]
It’s time for Theresa May to use her secret Brexit weapon: business October 17, 2018 Two weeks ago, I was in Birmingham among my fellow Conservatives awaiting Theresa May’s closing conference speech. I expected her to take a strong stance on the Chequers-based plan for Brexit and finally call upon her most valuable and underused supporters – business leaders – to champion her vision, not least because I and my [...]
Can we innovate better outside the EU? Economic lessons from the Nobel prize winner October 17, 2018 Gordon Brown’s time as chancellor will be remembered for many things. A sense of humour would be conspicuously absent from this list. But he provoked a great deal of mirth unintentionally in a speech shortly before the 1997 General Election on the theme of “post-neoclassical endogenous growth theory”. Read more: US duo win the Nobel [...]
Chomping at the bit: The race is on to be the next Tory leader October 17, 2018 There will be no deal this week. It was intended, then hoped for, but a Brexit deal is now as far away as it has ever been. The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that there will be a late capitulation, the mother-of-all-compromises by Downing Street, presented as a victory for all [...]
Sadiq Khan launches online Brexit resource for businesses October 17, 2018 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has launched a website aimed at helping companies prepare for potential challenges presented by Brexit. The Brexit Business Resource Hub contains Brexit-related news, links to industry reports and a calendar containing information on related events happening in London. Read more: James Dyson: No-deal Brexit 'will not change anything' The website [...]
Donald Tusk: No grounds for optimism on Brexit deal October 16, 2018 There are no grounds for optimism that a Brexit deal can be struck this week, European Council president Donald Tusk has warned just a day before a crunch summit. Speaking on the eve of EU leaders gathering in Brussels, Tusk called on Theresa May to put forward “concrete proposals” on how to break the deadlock [...]
Celebrities like Kanye West and Taylor Swift need to learn that we really don’t care what they think October 16, 2018 Taylor Swift, look what you made me do. Swifty has been a hallowed island of political neutrality in a sea of bad blood. But she’s now come out as a mid-term Democrat, and the love story is over. Maybe one day historians will look back and admire how Bob Geldof’s support for a People’s Vote [...]
Barratt chair threatened with investor rebellion after shareholders advised to vote against re-election October 16, 2018 Housebuilding giant Barratt Developments could suffer a revolt at its annual general meeting tomorrow, after an influential shareholder advisory group recommended investors vote against the re-election of chairman John Allan. PIRC has said that Allan, who is also chair of Tesco, “cannot effectively represent two corporate cultures…the possibility of having to commit additional time to [...]
James Dyson: No-deal Brexit ‘will not change anything’ October 16, 2018 British inventor James Dyson has said that a no-deal Brexit “will not change anything”, lashing out at car industry giants who have recently raised concerns over job losses if a deal with the EU is not reached. The vacuum magnate and Brexit advocate told Parisian financial newspaper Les Echos: “Taxes or delays at the customs, [...]
Why a Canada-style Brexit deal is unlikely October 16, 2018 Brexit is now less than six months away. Yet somehow, a deal feels further away than it did just a few weeks ago. The stakes are fairly high. Models estimate that GDP will shrink by much as eight per cent. Some of the damage has already been done via the corrosive effects of uncertainty and anticipation of a [...]