Fears over business rates mount as Britain’s major retailers prepare to form action group January 13, 2019 Some of Britain’s biggest retailers are coming together in an urgent bid to seek business rates relief from the government, City A.M. has learned. Around 50 major high street names are joining a mass lobbying effort to curb forthcoming rises in their property tax, as profits plunge in the face of falling sales and online [...]
MPs plot to wrestle Brexit agenda away from Theresa May as vote on deal fast approaches January 13, 2019 A cross-party group of MPs is reportedly plotting to seize control of the Brexit negotiations as the countdown to vote on Theresa May's deal fast approaches. Senior backbenchers, including former minister Nick Boles and Labour MP Dominic Grieve, are reportedly spearheading efforts to shake up the Commons rulebook so that backbenchers' motions take precedence over [...]
Elon Musk company SpaceX to cut 10 per cent of staff January 12, 2019 Elon Musk’s company SpaceX will cut around 10 per cent of its 6,000 staff, it revealed on Friday. The company announced it would be parting ways with around 600 people due to the “extraordinarily difficult challenges ahead”. “To continue delivering for our customers and to succeed in developing interplanetary spacecraft and a global space-based Internet, [...]
Chris Grayling: Blocking Brexit could prompt surge in right-wing extremism January 12, 2019 The UK could see a huge surge in right-wing extremism if the government blocks or weakens Brexit, a cabinet minister has warned. Transport secretary Chris Grayling said any moves to block Theresa May’s Brexit deal would cause the 17m people who voted to leave the EU feel “cheated”. Grayling told the Daily Mail any intervention [...]
US government shutdown hits 800,000 federal workers as they miss first payday of the year January 12, 2019 As many as 800,000 public sector workers missed their first payday of the year on Friday as the US government’s partial shutdown continued for a third week. Many workers have been working without the guarantee of pay since the shutdown began on December 22, including airport staff, prison guards and other vital public service personnel. [...]
Tesco and M&S reveal stockpiling amid concerns of a ‘no deal’ Brexit January 12, 2019 Two of the UK’s biggest supermarkets have revealed they are stockpiling food in case of a “no deal” Brexit. Both Tesco and Marks & Spencer have confirmed they are stockpiling long-life food such as packets and tins ahead of the UK leaving the EU on March 29. M&S chief executive, Steve Rowe, admitted his company’s [...]
Donald Trump insists he has ‘absolute right’ to use emergency powers over wall January 11, 2019 Donald Trump has threatened to "declare a national emergency" and use emergency powers in order get funding for a border wall as the impasse between Democrats and the US president continued for a third week. The president has insisted he has the "absolute right" to force the proposal through as a deal to reopen government [...]
Debenhams’ share price plunges 18 per cent following shock boardroom coup January 11, 2019 Shares in struggling department store chain Debenhams crashed 18 per cent to 3.9p today following yesterday’s shock Mike Ashley-inspired annual general meeting coup. Sports Direct boss and major Debenhams shareholder Ashley blocked the re-appointment of the company’s chairman and chief executive to the board at yesterday’s AGM. Sir Ian Cheshire, chair of the retailer’s board since [...]
Retail round up: What’s happening on the high street? January 11, 2019 | City Talk Not as bad as it could have been. That’s the general feeling about high street performance over Christmas after major retailers and the supermarkets published their festive figures this week. The British Retail Consortium says that 2018 was the worst Christmas for retails for 10 years but, as ever, the figures show there are winners [...]
Trump has gone to war with the US model of government January 11, 2019 There’s an ancient Greek fable about some frogs who ask Zeus for a king. The god gives them a log to be their ruler, which proceeds to do exactly what you’d expect: nothing. Disappointed, the frogs complain that their king isn’t getting anything done, and ask for a more active one. Zeus gives them a hydra, [...]