Shareholders need to hear more than just contrition if they are to believe in the future of M&S November 8, 2018 Another day, another bleak set of results from a struggling high street retailer. This time it was the turn of M&S to take centre stage, reporting falling food and fashion sales and pledging to leave “no stone unturned” in its bid to restructure the business. Blighted by rising costs, more competition, and major changes in [...]
Facebook founder Zuckerberg rejects invitation to appear before UK MPs November 7, 2018 Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was today revealed to have refused an invite to appear before an “international grand committee” by Digital, Culture and Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee chairman Damian Collins The 27 November hearing would have debated the social media giant’s role in perpetuating so-called fake news. Collins had joined forces with his [...]
Theresa May invites ministers to preview draft EU deal November 7, 2018 Theresa May has invited Cabinet ministers into Downing Street to catch a glimpse of the UK’s draft deal with the European Union. The deal being discussed is not the full withdrawal agreement and crucially does not contain the protocol on Northern Ireland, which Downing Street said was still to be finalised as negotiations were ongoing. The [...]
Britain’s economic growth is being stifled by visa red tape November 7, 2018 Political momentum is building to take a fresh look at visa restrictions on international recruitment of skilled people. The most media coverage has rightly been given to the refusal of 1,500 doctors, which the NHS desperately needs. But the government’s strict attitude to migration is causing problems across business professions and public services. The [...]
The hyperloop train is leaving the station – and the UK must be on it November 7, 2018 Britain can reasonably claim to have invented the railway. Stephenson’s Rocket represented the pinnacle of British industrial-era innovation. The ability to move products and people by steam locomotion had a transformative effect on society. British ingenuity saw railways knit communities together across the country, and eventually the globe. And for the next couple of centuries, [...]
Industry veteran Steve Morgan retires from housebuilder Redrow November 7, 2018 While much of today’s property talk has revolved around the bonus-related resignation of Persimmon boss Jeff Fairburn, rival housebuilder Redrow also bid its farewell to founder and chairman Steve Morgan. The industry veteran, who set up the FTSE 250 company in 1974, revealed he was retiring this morning a decade on from returning to the [...]
Good news – the evidence is in from across the Atlantic, and tax cuts benefit everyone November 7, 2018 From discussions on how the UK should reform its tax and regulatory landscape to make the most of post-Brexit opportunities, to the rallies midterm election candidates have been holding across the US championing or lambasting the President’s tax cuts, the debate is still raging about how changes to taxes impact economies. But if you need [...]
Hammond’s digital tax is an illogical game of whack-a-mole November 7, 2018 The introduction of a new digital services tax was the most depressingly inevitable part of Philip Hammond’s Budget speech last week. Years of pressure from a pincer movement of corporate tax moralists and traditional retailers have paid off. Starting in April 2020, profitable digital businesses with £500m in global revenues would face a two per cent [...]
Downing Street denies leaked Brexit timetable November 6, 2018 Reports tonight of a leaked document apparently from the Department for Exiting the EU, which outlined the government’s strategy for revealing a successful Brexit deal to the press and MPs later this month, have been refuted by Downing Street. A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's office said the document seemed "childish", denying its authenticity: "The [...]
Tesla short-seller David Einhorn warns Elon Musk’s last quarter was its peak November 6, 2018 One of Tesla's most outspoken short-sellers David Einhorn has said its most recent third quarter was "as good as it gets", spurning theories that the electric carmaker had reached a turning point. Einhorn, whose hedge fund Greenlight Capital has consistently shorted Tesla's shares, said in an earnings call this afternoon that Tesla had "exhausted" most of the [...]