Richard Branson pulls out of $1bn investment talks with Saudi Arabia over missing journalist October 12, 2018 Virgin's Richard Branson said he had scrapped talks with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund about a $1bn (£755m) investment into its space ventures late last night, in light of the disappearance of a prominent Washington Post journalist. "What has reportedly happened in Turkey around the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, if proved true, would clearly change [...]
DEBATE: Has the Northern Powerhouse run out of steam? October 12, 2018 Has the Northern Powerhouse run out of steam? Emma Revell, communications officer at the Centre for Policy Studies, says YES. The Northern Powerhouse hasn’t quite run out of steam but it’s certainly not firing on all cylinders. Rail infrastructure improvements have been shelved, the architects of the Northern Powerhouse (most notably George Osborne and Jim O'Neill) [...]
Keep an eye on UN reform after the departure of Nikki Haley October 12, 2018 Nikki Haley, former governor of South Carolina, this week resigned without warning as President Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. Haley has not given a reason for her exit, and her replacement is yet to be named, but her departure is an opportunity to examine both the UN and her role within it. Donald Trump’s [...]
Nico Rosberg on his new life as a tech investor: “I struggle to invest in some boring s**t. For me it’s important that they’re cool.” October 11, 2018 His racing days might be behind him but the competitive fire still burns inside Nico Rosberg – only now the ex-Formula One world champion has an altogether different outlet. Since his sudden retirement in 2016, Rosberg has embarked on a second career as an investor, with a particular focus on tech-leaning companies such as Uber [...]
Mark Carney told to clarify dramatic house price fall warning in case of ‘no-deal’ Brexit October 11, 2018 Bank of England governor Mark Carney needs to clarify whether house prices would be slashed by a third in a 'no deal' Brexit, the chair of the Treasury select committee has insisted. Nicky Morgan has written to Carney asking him to clear up exactly what he told the Cabinet on September 13 during a presentation [...]
MPs call for £25m funding injection to extend Elizabeth Line to Kent October 11, 2018 MPs and council leaders have called for a £25m funding injection to extend the delayed Elizabeth Line to Ebbsfleet. A cross-party group of MPs, including former defence secretary Michael Fallon, Labour MP Teresa Pearce and Tory MP David Evennett, submitted their Budget submission to rail minister Jo Johnson this morning, in which they asked for the funding injection before the [...]
Trump’s state visit to the UK cost police £18m, four times as much as the royal wedding’s security October 11, 2018 US president Donald Trump's visit to the UK in July cost police almost £18m, four times the cost of the security of the royal wedding, it was revealed today. Nearly 10,000 officers across the country worked more than 26,000 shifts during the four-day trip that ignited protests in London, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Read more: Trump has a [...]
Global equity bloodbath plunges FTSE 100 to six-month low October 11, 2018 A GLOBAL equity bloodbath plunged the FTSE 100 to its lowest level in six months on a “gut-churning” day for investors. The sell-off began in the US on Wednesday before spreading to Europe, Asia, and trading floors across the world on Thursday. Global growth concerns, the prospect of higher US interest rates, as well as [...]
Musk denies rumours of James Murdoch as lead candidate for Tesla chairman October 11, 2018 Tesla billionaire Elon Musk has denied reports that 21st Century Fox chief and Tesla board member James Murdoch is the lead candidate to replace him as chairman of the electric carmaker. In response to a report by the Financial Times late last night that Murdoch was the favourite to take the top spot, Musk tweeted at [...]
Blockchain, Brexit, and the Irish border – how technology can help to solve this delicate problem October 11, 2018 With less than six months to go until Brexit, one of the biggest sticking points in the negotiations between Britain and the European Union remains undoubtedly the issue of the Irish border. If the UK does decide to leave the EU’s single market and customs union, it will become necessary to control and monitor goods [...]