Switzerland heads for Brexit-like EU clash with €227bn at stake from today May 26, 2021 From today, Swiss medical-technology companies will no longer be allowed to export duty-free to the European Union as Bern and Brussels failed to agree to a long-anticipated political treaty that would cover trade between the two countries. The goods-trading relationship at risk is worth $278bn, with medical-technology companies being the latest casualty of a deteriorating [...]
Temptation Isle: Is London City Island the hottest property ticket in town this year? May 25, 2021 Arising in East London are over 1,700 new flats and townhouses – on an island within the capital. London City Island is a new neighbourhood development inspired by the architecture of Tokyo and Chicago, according to its developers. The Island, created by EcoWorld Ballymore, has been referred to as a “Mini Manhattan”, according to estate [...]
US businesses team up to oppose Biden’s tax rise proposals May 25, 2021 Business groups in the US have formed a coalition to oppose tax increase proposals by the Biden administration. The US government has proposed a global minimum corporation tax rate, as well as increasing tax payments in the US in order to pay for infrastructure projects. The tax proposals “could not come at a worse time”, [...]
Less than half of small businesses will ask staff to return to the office full-time May 25, 2021 Fewer than one in two of small business owners plan to advise their staff to return to the office after 21 June, when government restrictions on home working will be lifted, according to new survey results. Financial services company Hitachi Capital Business Finance polled over a thousand UK-based small business owners to find out how [...]
EU slaps £319m fine on UBS, Nomura and UniCredit for bond cartels May 20, 2021 European Union antitrust regulators charged UBS, UniCredit and Nomura with a fine of £319m for their connections with a European government bond trading cartel. The sizable fines are the most recent punishment of the financial industry for its alleged involvement in foreign exchange cartels, Euribor and Libor benchmark cartels, and bonds cartels. The European Commission [...]
Morgan Stanley shakes up leadership as race for CEO successor intensifies May 20, 2021 Morgan Stanley announced a number of leadership changes and set off a competition between potential successors to replace Chief Executive Officer James Gorman in the next few years. In a statement Gorman said the announcement “reflects the next generation of leadership at Morgan Stanley.” “I am highly confident one of them will be the CEO in [...]
Robinhood to allow users to buy into IPOs May 20, 2021 Trading platform Robinhood has said it plans to roll out a platform to allow its users to buy into initial public offerings (IPOs) in a move aimed at democratizing finance. To date users of the commission-free app, as well as other amateur traders, cannot not buy into stock of a newly listed company until its [...]
Golden eagles and wildcats could return to England May 19, 2021 The UK government announced a scheme to reintroduce wildcats and golden eagles back into the country. Reintroductions and habitat restoration work will help reverse decline of wildlife and meet new legally binding biodiversity targets, said the government in a new announcement. Golden eagles have been almost completely absent from English skies for around 180 years, [...]
English farmers to be offered £100k to call it a day May 19, 2021 Older farmers in England will be paid to retire under a government scheme aimed at attracting new, younger, entrants into the industry. The plans, which are still subject to consultation, are part of a post-Brexit shift to a subsidy system and an overhaul of farm grants to encourage farmers to protect the environment. Environment Secretary [...]
Trump calls criminal probe ‘corrupt’ and claims he is ‘unfairly attacked and abused’ May 19, 2021 Former US President Donald Trump said he was “being unfairly attacked and abused” in response to reports that New York’s attorney general has launched a criminal probe into his family business. “There is nothing more corrupt than an investigation that is in desperate search of a crime,” Trump said in a statement. He added that “we will overcome” any [...]