Why a Canada-style Brexit deal is unlikely October 16, 2018 Brexit is now less than six months away. Yet somehow, a deal feels further away than it did just a few weeks ago. The stakes are fairly high. Models estimate that GDP will shrink by much as eight per cent. Some of the damage has already been done via the corrosive effects of uncertainty and anticipation of a [...]
Theresa May tells Cabinet to ‘stand together’ over her Brexit plan October 16, 2018 Theresa May told her Cabinet to “stand together” in order to get a Brexit deal with the EU today during an extended meeting of her top team. Ministers debated the PM’s negotiating stance for two and a half hours on Tuesday morning, just a day before May will once again try to sell her plans [...]
Theresa May’s new merger powers would be a hostile takeover by the state October 16, 2018 Back in July 2016, Theresa May launched her campaign for leadership of the Conservative party by promising radical action on foreign takeovers of British businesses. In the wake of Kraft’s takeover of Cadbury and Pfizer’s failed bid for AstraZeneca, May promised to defend workers and local communities from transient shareholders who, she said, were more [...]
Ignore the chancellor, we don’t need Chequers to end austerity October 16, 2018 I generally presume cynicism in politicians’ arguments. But Philip Hammond implying a Chequers-style relationship with the EU is needed to “end austerity” was shocking in its brazenness. Ahead of the October Budget, the chancellor has echoed Theresa May in suggesting that looser government spending is just around the corner. Their calculation seems to be that [...]
Finance chiefs desert Saudi business summit as backlash to missing journalist intensifies October 16, 2018 The global boycott of a high-profile Saudi investor conference gathered pace yesterday as the bosses of JP Morgan, Ford, Blackstone and BlackRock led an executive exodus following the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The US resident and critic of the Saudi government has not been seen since entering the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on 2 October. [...]
No deal ‘more likely than ever’ says EU as Theresa May is given another chance to sell her Brexit plan October 15, 2018 Theresa May will be given one final chance to sell her Brexit plan to the EU on Wednesday – with a warning from Brussels that no deal is “more likely than ever before”. European Council president Donald Tusk has invited the Prime Minister to address her EU counterparts in a bid to persuade them to [...]
Theresa May refuses to set end date for when the UK will leave the EU customs union October 15, 2018 Theresa May today repeatedly refused to guarantee when the UK would stop being part of the EU’s customs union if a trade deal wasn’t completed by December 2020. Speaking to MPs 24 hours after Brexit talks seemed to breakdown in Brussels, the Prime Minister was asked to set a date for when her so-called ‘backstop’ [...]
It’s Google versus Facebook in the fight for video dominance October 15, 2018 There’s a battle brewing online. In search of more views, users, and lucrative ad money, Facebook wants to take on Google and steal YouTube’s crown as the dominant video platform. The social media giant is fighting on two fronts. It launched its first assault last year with Facebook Watch, a platform effectively identical to [...]
Stand up to EU ‘bullies’, Boris Johnson tells Prime Minister after Brexit negotiations stall October 15, 2018 Boris Johnson today called on the Prime Minister to push back against the EU “bullies” following the collapse of Brexit talks between the UK and the bloc. The former foreign secretary claimed that negotiations are in the “moment of crisis” and warned that Theresa May must “stand up to bullies” as he applies pressure to [...]
British support for the House of Saud cannot be unconditional October 15, 2018 When Theresa May welcomed Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Downing Street earlier this year, an official statement declared that the two countries would work together to promote “universal human rights.” At the time, this form of words jarred with the reality of life in the oil rich kingdom. Today, in the aftermath [...]