Boris Johnson and buses: A brief but chequered history November 15, 2019 Boris Johnson unveiled his new election battle bus today, which comes emblazoned with slogans urging voters to back the Prime Minister to “get Brexit done.” The Prime Minister’s penchant for the trusty London bus is well known. In an interview with Talk Radio in June, he admitted that he liked to relax by making models [...]
21 UK stocks in danger from a Labour election win November 15, 2019 The Labour party today announced it will nationalise parts of BT if it wins power in December’s General Election. The party would nationalise the telecoms giant’s Openreach fibre rollout arm in a bid to create a UK-wide network owned by the government. Read more: BT chief executive warns Labour’s part-nationalisation would cost £100bn Shadow chancellor [...]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s British broadband speech in full November 15, 2019 Jeremy Corbyn has laid out plans to provide free full fibre broadband to every UK household and part-nationalise BT this morning. Labour said that the policy, the cost of which was estimated at £20bn, would be funded by taxing multinational tech giants. The policy announcement sent BT’s share price down over two per cent this [...]
Donald Trump impeachment: US politicians kick off public hearings November 13, 2019 The impeachment inquiry into US President Donald Trump stepped up a gear this afternoon as politicians opened the first public hearing. The House Intelligence Committee is holding the first hearing as part of a probe into whether Trump improperly pressured Ukraine to help his bid for reelection. Read more: FTSE 100 staggers under Trump’s tariff [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell: Post-Brexit economy should be ‘Singapore on steroids’ November 12, 2019 Advertising veteran Sir Martin Sorrell has called on the government to pursue a “Singapore on steroids” strategy for the UK economy after Brexit. The former WPP boss, who now runs digital ad firm S4 Capital, said the UK should seek to establish a free-market, pro-business economy similar to that of the Asian financial hub. Read [...]
UK advertisers block ‘Trump’ from campaigns amid fears over brand reputation November 12, 2019 The vast majority of UK advertisers have blocked their campaigns from appearing next to references to Donald Trump amid fears the US President could damage their brand. On average, 87 per cent of campaigns using keyword blocking between March and September excluded the word ‘Trump’, according to new data from Integral Ad Science. Read more: [...]
Moody’s downgrades UK credit rating outlook to ‘negative’ November 9, 2019 Moody’s has signalled there is a possibility it will downgrade the credit rating on government debt amid an “erosion in institutional strength” caused by Brexit. The ratings agency has changed the outlook on its Aa2 rating of the UK’s debt from “stable” to “negative”, implying a rating cut could be imminent. Read more: Sajid Javid [...]
General election 2019: Tories unveil plan for Australian-style, points-based immigration system November 8, 2019 Boris Johnson is to tackle both the issues of health and immigration as the Conservatives unveil plans to introduce an Australian-style, points-based immigration system. The Prime Minister is to announce a new visa that aims to attract more doctors and nurses to the NHS following Brexit. The immigration points-based system is thought to be popular [...]
Top tips for negotiations from Sir Richard Branson November 8, 2019 Israel is famous for its savvy negotiators. So to launch the new Virgin Atlantic route from London to Tel Aviv, I went head-to-head with its residents to put my skills to the test — and I had to bring my A-game. It was no easy feat. The people of Tel Aviv know how to drive [...]
Woodford protege Mark Barnett hit by Morningstar downgrades on two funds November 7, 2019 Two Invesco funds run by a protege of disgraced stockpicker Neil Woodford have been hit by Morningstar downgrades over their exposure to smaller and illiquid companies. The financial research firm downgraded Invesco’s High Income and Income funds – which are both managed by Mark Bartnett – to a “neutral” rating. Read more: Cautious investors drag [...]