European stocks stabilise following US-China trade war escalation June 3, 2019 European stocks stabilised following a slump this morning sparked by the escalation of the trade war between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies. The FTSE 100 was trading 0.16 per cent up this afternoon after falling 1.09 per cent to 7,084.5p in the morning. Dax, which tracks 30 major German companies, was up 0.3 [...]
Trump touches down in London ahead of controversial state visit June 3, 2019 US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania have touched down at Stansted Airport in London ahead of their controversial state visit, which will see them dine at Buckingham Palace and the President meet outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May for talks. Read more: Trump tells UK: Include Farage in Brexit talks and prepare for no [...]
Blame polarising primaries for Democrats’ shift to the far left June 3, 2019 As an American working in Westminster, I often get asked about the differences between US and British politics. Obviously, the entire American political spectrum is shifted to the right, we’re still fighting hard battles on social issues, and there is the added interplay of state level policies. But there’s an obvious similarity. The divide between [...]
Business groups should be happy with Javid’s infrastructure plan June 3, 2019 This newspaper applauded the Tory leadership contest's emerging battle of ideas last week, a trend that happily continued over the weekend with candidates launching a range of new policy proposals. Former City banker Sajid Javid grabbed headlines by revealing that he could scrap the top rate of income tax, and this morning bulks up his [...]
Amazon hits back at Hammond’s digital tax with high street venture June 2, 2019 Amazon is launching a programme to help digital businesses find success on the high street, with a series of pop-up stores across the UK. The move follows comments from chancellor Philip Hammond that the tech giant and other online behemoths hold a “near-monopoly” over physical stores, contributing to retail's economic downturn. The e-commerce giant will open [...]
RBS GRG scandal: The baggage that could drag down Andrew Bailey’s quest to lead the Bank of England June 2, 2019 This summer, the Bank of England is expected to announce a successor to Mark Carney as governor. Among the runners in the contested race is Andrew Bailey, the financial watchdog chief who stands a solid chance of taking Carney's crown. While the boss of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) certainly has the credentials for the [...]
Aberdeen Standard opposes Non-Standard Finance’s hostile Provident Financial takeover June 2, 2019 A major shareholder in Provident Financial has come out to publicly oppose rival doorstep lender Non-Standard Finance’s (NSF) hostile takeover bid. Aberdeen Standard Investments, which owns 3.1 per cent of the sub-prime lender, said it would not accept NSF’s offer. Read more: Watchdog probes Non-Standard Finance's hostile takeover of Provident Head of UK equities Andrew [...]
Tory leadership hopeful Sajid Javid vows to renegotiate the backstop with ‘grand offer’ to Ireland June 2, 2019 Home secretary Sajid Javid has set out a "grand offer" to avoid the need for the backstop by paying all the costs necessary to create a digitised border on the island of Ireland. The Tory leadership hopeful said it was still possible to renegotiate the Irish backstop – the insurance policy designed to prevent a hard border [...]
Chinese state hackers accused of ‘rigging’ 5G tests to protect Huawei June 2, 2019 China has reportedly been accused of rigging 5G security tests in a bid to discredit western companies and protect Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. Beijing has been leaking details of security vulnerabilities in equipment made by Huawei’s rivals to a 5G testing team as it looks to bolster the reputation of the controversial Chinese firm, the [...]
Donald Trump tells UK: Include Nigel Farage in Brexit talks and prepare for no deal June 2, 2019 The UK should be prepared to pursue a no-deal Brexit and Nigel Farage should be made part of the negotiating team with Brussels, Donald Trump has said. Speaking before his state visit to the UK tomorrow, the US president waded into the Brexit crisis by saying the UK should be prepared to "walk away" if Brussels does [...]