Downing Street slaps down Sajid Javid over net migration target January 29, 2019 Downing Street has insisted reducing net migration to below 100,000 is still government policy – despite the home secretary saying there are no more targets. In the Commons on Monday, Sajid Javid was asked if the government was “formally dumping” its longstanding aim of getting net migration into the tens of thousands. The home secretary [...]
We’re all bored of Brexit, just as things start to get interesting January 29, 2019 This week will be crucial for Brexit as Theresa May sets out how she intends to take the departure process forward after her initial withdrawal agreement was defeated. But as Westminster gets to grips with the Brexit process, and the media pores over the ramifications of parliamentary votes on proposed amendments to the deal, most [...]
With just a dash of flexibility, the Brexit endgame is in sight January 29, 2019 In 1982, three years into Margaret Thatcher’s first term, a monograph was published about the government’s economic progress bluntly titled: “Could do better”. Was it published by the Fabian Society, with its close affiliation to the Labour party? Or perhaps it was released by the recently established Social Democratic Party, formed by people on the [...]
The Eurozone is at risk of renewed crisis in 2019 – and this time it’s all about Italy January 29, 2019 After a dismal 2018, December brought further bad news for the Eurozone in the form of the European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator. Despite hopes that last year would see an escape from the ongoing repercussions of the 2011-2013 euro crisis, confidence across sectors has taken a hit, with only retail trade remaining a bright spot. [...]
If Britain looks outward, it will find Nigeria open for business January 29, 2019 As the vote on Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement looms, parliament is at an impasse. The likelihood of a no-deal Brexit is increasing – in Germany, it is now seen as the most probable outcome, while in France, a “hard Brexit” contingency plan has been triggered. Deal or no deal, however, Brexit gives the UK the [...]
Former Virgin Money chief Jayne-Anne Gadhia hunts for investors in new tech startup January 28, 2019 The former head of challenger bank Virgin Money is to set up her own fintech startup, designed to save consumers money on their household bills. Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has approached several investors regarding a new company called Snoop, which will take advantage of Open Banking rules to utilise data about customers' spending habits, according to reports [...]
‘A farce!’ Tories react to Theresa May’s plan to back a change to her Brexit plan January 28, 2019 Theresa May is set for a showdown with the hard Brexit wing of her party on Tuesday as the war over her withdrawal plan intensifies. The Prime Minister will order her MPs to support a plan calling for the unpopular Irish backstop to be replaced with “alternative arrangements” to avoid a hard border on the island. [...]
Row over Bank of England’s Venezuelan gold heats up as senior Tory MP writes to Carney January 28, 2019 The row over the Bank of England’s handling of Venezuelan gold escalated tonight after the former chair of parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee revealed he had written to governor Mark Carney expressing his concerns over the arrangement. Senior Tory MP Crispin Blunt urged the governor to block President Nicolas Maduro’s attempts to take back the gold, [...]
Will 2019 be the year gold regains its shine? January 28, 2019 | City Talk Gold had a mixed year in 2018, quickly peaking around $1,366 in January, but falling as low as $1,160 by August. For a while it seemed that the correlation between risk-off appetite and gold prices had broken, with the yellow metal overlooked even in times of heightened uncertainty. But after a 7% recovery since early [...]
Labour leadership accused of ‘weasel words’ over Venezuela by their own MPs January 28, 2019 Leading Labour MPs have been accused of “weasel words” on Venezuela after several signed a letter hitting out at the attempted ousting of the country’s dictatorial president, Nicolas Maduro. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell, shadow home secretary Diane Abbott and ten other MPs were among a host of signatories to the letter which appeared in the [...]