Blue on blue: Three key talking points from the Conservative leadership debate July 10, 2019 It’s that time again. The Tory leadership race is reaching its zenith, and the final two candidates last night took part in the first of several televised Conservative leadership debate head-to-heads as Tories choose the next Prime Minister. Read more: Can Boris Johnson turbocharge the UK economy? In a spirited and at times ill-tempered affair, [...]
Boris Johnson can deliver a bolder economic vision for Britain July 10, 2019 Brexit Britain is at an impasse. Half-in, half-out, with our politics gridlocked, we are now in serious danger of undermining our traditional attractiveness as a magnet for global investment. This week’s quarterly survey of FTSE CFOs by Deloitte shows that 83 per cent expect the UK’s economic prospects to worsen as a result of Brexit [...]
Woodford investors blocked from switching from Hargreaves Lansdown July 9, 2019 Customers that invested in Neil Woodford’s suspended flagship fund through Hargreaves Lansdown have been blocked from switching investment platforms, according to evidence submitted to the Treasury Committee’s inquiry into the scandal. Richard Wilson, chief executive of rival fund supermarket Interactive Investor, said investors had “both hands tied” after Link Fund Solutions, the authorised fund manager, [...]
Donald Trump slams ‘wacky’ UK ambassador and ‘foolish’ Prime Minister July 9, 2019 Donald Trump has branded the UK’s ambassador to the US “wacky” and “stupid” in another highly personal attack on Sir Kim Darroch. Read more: Trump says he won’t talk to UK’s ambassador after email leaks In a series of tweets, the US President also hit out at Theresa May’s “failed Brexit negotiation”, labelling her as [...]
Blast off: Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic plots public listing July 9, 2019 Space may be the final frontier, but Virgin Galactic is readying itself to overcome a fresh obstacle before launching into the great unknown: a stock market listing. Sir Richard Branson’s space-tourism venture is planning to go public as part of a deal with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC). Read more: Fifty years on from the [...]
EU calls for European to replace Lagarde as IMF boss July 8, 2019 Top EU officials have called for a European candidate to replace Christine Lagarde as head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), with the Netherlands launching a bid to fill the post. The IMF is seeking a replacement for Lagarde, who was nominated by EU leaders last week as the next president of the European Central [...]
Debenhams urges Sports Direct to drop legal action over restructuring plan July 8, 2019 Debenhams has urged Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct to drop its lawsuit over the department store chain’s controversial insolvency plan after a key landlord withdrew its legal action. Sports Direct has filed a complaint against the company voluntary arrangement (CVA), which will allow Debenhams to close some 50 stores in a bid to stay afloat. Read [...]
Theresa May says leaked US ambassador emails ‘a matter of regret’ July 8, 2019 Britain has been in touch with Donald Trump’s White House to express regret over the leak of confidential emails in which the ambassador to the US called the President’s administration “dysfunctional” and “inept”. The messages from Sir Kim Darroch, the UK’s ambassador to Washington, were leaked to the Mail on Sunday over the weekend. Yesterday, [...]
Inquiry launched into leaked memos branding Trump administration ‘inept’ July 7, 2019 The government has launched an inquiry into leaked memos that described US President Donald Trump’s administration as “inept” and “uniquely dysfunctional”. In a series of confidential memos written over the last three years, British ambassador to Washington Sir Kim Darroch reportedly criticised Trump and warned of internal rifts in the White House. Read more: Trump [...]
Bears are gathering to welcome bullish Boris July 7, 2019 Did the economy shrink in the second quarter of the year? While it is impossible to be sure, we will get another clue this week when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes its GDP estimate for May – and so far, the signs are not good. Read more: Boris Johnson to crack down on [...]