Neil Woodford fund breaches rules after Guernsey delistings July 31, 2019 Embattled fund manager Neil Woodford has breached fund restrictions after two of his major investments delisted from the Guernsey stock exchange. Woodford has been battling to reduce his Equity Income fund’s investment in illiquid securities after it was suspended following a spike in investor redemption requests. Read more: Neil Woodford’s flagship fund to stay frozen [...]
Sterling plunges below $1.22 as no-deal Brexit fears batter currency July 30, 2019 Sterling fell further overnight to its lowest level since March 2017 as worries over a no-deal Brexit under Boris Johnson’s government deepened. The pound plunged below $1.22 to hit $1.2146 this morning, a drop of almost 0.6 per cent against the dollar as analysts warned GBP is coming close to “uncharted waters”. Read more: Sterling [...]
Grant Thornton due to quit Sports Direct after €674m Belgian tax bill July 30, 2019 Grant Thornton is reportedly set to quit as Sports Direct’s auditor following unprecedented delays to the publication of the retailer’s annual results on Friday. The auditor will abandon billionaire Mike Ashley after only learning shortly before it was set to sign off on his company’s accounts that Sports Direct owed Belgian tax authorities €674m (£605m), [...]
Neil Woodford defends share sell-off as he faces removal from namesake fund July 29, 2019 Embattled stock picker Neil Woodford has defended his decision to sell the majority of his stake in his investment trust as it considers whether to replace him as manager. Woodford Patient Capital Trust (WPCT) announced this morning that Woodford had sold 1.75m shares, 60 per cent of his stake, to “meet personal financial obligations” including [...]
Shares in Sorrell’s S4 Capital get boost as rapid expansion continues July 29, 2019 Shares in S4 Capital rose more than four per cent this morning after the digital advertising firm reported strong trading for the first half. S4, which is run by ad veteran Sir Martin Sorrell, said like-for-like revenue and gross profit were up roughly 40 per cent over the period. Read more: Sorrell’s S4 Capital to [...]
Sadiq Khan’s approval ratings drop to lowest level ever amid knife crime crisis July 28, 2019 Approval ratings for Sadiq Khan have fallen to their lowest levels in his three-year tenure as Mayor of London amid growing concern about crime rates in the capital. Khan has an approval rating of -3, with 30 per cent of Londoners saying they are satisfied with his leadership and 33 per cent dissatisfied, according to [...]
No-deal Brexit a ‘threat’ to UK’s science sector, says Wellcome Trust July 27, 2019 The chairwoman of the Wellcome Trust, the UK’s biggest charitable funder of scientific research, has written to Boris Johnson claiming that a no-deal Brexit is a “threat” to the science sector. Lady Eliza Manningham-Buller has backed Johnson’s vision for the science industry, but warned against the potential damage leaving the EU without a deal could [...]
Boris Johnson ‘absolutely’ rules out pre-Brexit general election July 27, 2019 Boris Johnson has ruled out calling a general election prior to the Brexit deadline of 31 October. The Prime Minister said voters did not want to return to the polls for another general election or referendum until the mandate had been completed. Read more: Ireland foreign minister hits out at Boris Johnson’s “unhelpful” Brexi approach [...]
US and UK working on ‘very substantial’ trade deal, says Trump July 27, 2019 US President Donald Trump has revealed that he has begun talks with Boris Johnson and the UK about a “very substantial” trade deal. Speaking on Friday, Trump said that a deal between the two countries following the UK’s exit from the European Union could lead to a “three to four, five times” increase in current [...]
Boris Johnson to pledge funding for high-speed rail route between Leeds and Manchester July 27, 2019 Boris Johnson is expected to pledge to fund a new high-speed rail link between Leeds and Manchester during a speech in the latter, later today. He will give his backing to the trans-Pennine transport link to “turbo-charge the economy”. Read more: UK car industry tells Boris Johnson no-deal Brexit not an option It is the [...]