London mayor Sadiq Khan’s approval rating goes negative for first time since election May 2, 2019 London mayor Sadiq Khan’s popularity has dropped into negative figures for the first time. Data from a You Gov poll for December showed Khan had a net approval rating of minus one. The poll of 1,000 people, commissioned by City Hall, showed 32 per cent said they were satisfied and 33 per cent dissatisfied. Read [...]
Stagecoach claims pension risks for three spurned rail franchises ‘exceeded £1bn’ May 2, 2019 Stagecoach is engaged in an increasingly bitter battle with the government after it revealed that the pension risks it was being asked to take on for three rail franchises was "well in excess of £1bn". Stagecoach, which runs a partnership with Richard Branson's Virgin Trains, has been at loggerheads with the Department for Transport (DfT) [...]
Apollo Global Management scraps partnership status to become a corporation May 2, 2019 Apollo Global Management has announced that it is scrapping its partnership status to become a corporation, following similar moves by private equity rivals Blackstone and KKR. The conversion, which is expected to become effective in the third quarter of this year, will see the investment company paying more corporate tax under a simplified structure, which [...]
Tesla looks to strengthen with $2.3bn fundraising round May 2, 2019 Tesla will look to raise around $2.3bn (£1.76bn) by issuing new shares and debt, with chief executive Elon Musk pitching in $10m of his own cash to buy shares. The electric car maker said this afternoon it has filed with regulators to launch the fundraising, after it lost $700m in the first three months of [...]
Five moments we’ll always cherish from Gavin WIlliamson’s time as defence secretary May 2, 2019 Historians will look back on former defence secretary Gavin Williamson as one of the more colourful figures in Theresa May's Cabinet. Read more: Defence secretary Gavin Williamson ousted from cabinet over Huawei leak Williamson, who was last night sacked over allegations he leaked information from a top secret security meeting, experienced a series of gaffes [...]
Bank of England upgrades UK growth forecast as household spending boosts economy May 2, 2019 The Bank of England once again voted to keep interest rates on hold today, as it painted a picture of an economy propped up by household spending as Brexit uncertainty continues. Read more: City A.M.'s shadow MPC votes to hold interest rates despite recent growth Threadneedle Street also upgraded Britain's 2019 economic growth forecast to 1.5 [...]
Climate change protesters target Bank of England MPC meeting May 2, 2019 Climate activists protested outside the Bank of England this morning calling for the institution to go green, ahead of the release of its inflation report this afternoon. Demonstrators from Positive Money and Fossil Free London urged the central bank to make its quantitative easing programme environmentally friendly by stopping asset purchases in high-carbon sectors and [...]
Calls grow for criminal inquiry into Huawei leak after Gavin Williamson sacking May 2, 2019 Calls are mounting for a police inquiry into the leak of confidential information from a top secret security committee that led to the sacking of defence secretary Gavin Williamson yesterday. Prime Minister Theresa May fired Williamson last night following an investigation into a leak from a meeting of the National Security Council, which revealed the government’s [...]
When the boss jumps ship, it’s up to employees not to rock the boat May 2, 2019 When Royal Bank of Scotland announced that chief executive Ross McEwan was stepping down, it didn’t take long for the news to turn to talk of remuneration packages and successors. This response is to be expected, but it does leave an important question unanswered: how will employees at the front line of the firm be [...]
From Bercow to Corbyn, Trump’s UK visit has exposed a nest of political hypocrites May 2, 2019 No sooner had the announcement been made that President Donald Trump would be making a state visit to the UK in June than a predictable flurry of criticism emerged from a group of the usual suspects. Leading this crowd of dissenters who have said that they will refuse to attend a state dinner with our [...]