Debenhams on the verge of sealing £200m funding from lenders March 22, 2019 Debenhams is close to receiving a £200m lifeline from lenders that would prevent the department store falling into the hands of largest shareholder Mike Ashley. A deal finalising its borrowing facilities, which are larger than expected, could be announced as soon as today, according to Sky News. Read more: Levi shares soar as jeans retailer makes stock market [...]
Midnight crisis: EU leaders offer two new Brexit delay deadlines March 22, 2019 European leaders debated late into last night in a bid to avert a no-deal Brexit on 29 March, with negotiators agreeing to give Theresa May one last shot at getting her deal through parliament. Read more: Editor’s Notes: A dose of rational optimism blew away the fog of Brexit The Prime Minister travelled to Brussels [...]
Credit Suisse boss receives 30 per cent pay rise despite falling share price March 22, 2019 The chief executive of Credit Suisse Tidjane Thiam has received a pay boost of 30 per cent to 12.65m Swiss francs (£9.7m), the group’s annual report showed today. The Swiss bank said the pay rise was “designed to acknowledge the strong performance of Mr Thiam over the course of his tenure to date and the successful [...]
TfL awards controversial £1bn ‘sale and leaseback’ Crossrail fleet deal to Natwest-backed group March 22, 2019 Transport for London (TfL) has awarded a controversial £1bn "sale and leaseback" deal for a fleet of Crossrail trains to a rail company backed by Natwest and Japan's second largest bank. 345 Rail Leasing, which was set up in January this year and comprises Equitix Investment Management, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Natwest, will own the [...]
EU agrees to delay Brexit until 22 May if MPs back Theresa May’s deal March 21, 2019 The EU has said it will agree to a short delay to Brexit only if MPs back Theresa May's withdrawal deal next week. A leaked EU document read: "The European Council commits to agreeing to an extension until 22 May 2019, provided the WA is approved by the HoC next week. Given that The UK does [...]
Investor confidence soars to 10-month high despite Brexit uncertainty March 21, 2019 Investor confidence hit a ten-month high in March despite ongoing uncertainty related to Brexit. The Hargreaves Lansdown Investor Confidence Index reached 80 points this month, recovering from a record low of 52 points in December, indicating that the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union is no longer tainting investor sentiment to the same extent. Read [...]
After blaming MPs for Brexit delay, Theresa May seeks Article 50 extension in Brussels March 21, 2019 | City Talk If Brexit were a Netflix original series it would be considered one of the greatest dramas ever produced. The enormous cast of characters, the sprawling subplots, the infighting, the defections, the backstabbing – next to it, Game of Thrones would seem like your average kitchen sink drama. Even as Brexit supposedly reaches its finale on [...]
Tory Assembly member accuses Sadiq Khan of ‘tricking Londoners’ over housing targets March 21, 2019 A Conservative Assembly member has said Sadiq Khan's housing credibility is in "tatters" after he accused the mayor of double counting figures from previous years. Andrew Boff, a former mayoral candidate and Tories' housing spokesperson in the London Assembly, said Khan had failed to reach his housing target of 12,500 homes for the previous financial year because he had [...]
For all the fire and fury, there’s only one deal in town – and MPs should vote for it March 21, 2019 Yesterday afternoon a rumour spread around Westminster that the Prime Minister was going to make a live statement in Downing Street. The appearance of the Number 10 lectern always excites journalists as the PM tends only to use it when making dramatic announcements. Talk of her resignation or a high-stakes ultimatum continued to occupy Westminster-watchers [...]
Sadiq Khan confirms TfL will remove controversial Michael Jackson bus adverts March 21, 2019 Controversial adverts that express support for Michael Jackson are to be removed from the side of Transport for London's (TfL) buses, Sadiq Khan has confirmed. The adverts, which bear the tagline "Innocent", were pushed by a Jackson fan group in response to a two-part Netflix documentary, Leaving Neverland, in which the late singer is accused of abusing young boys [...]