EU parliament votes through landmark Canadian trade deal February 15, 2017 The EU parliament has given the thumbs up to the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the EU-Canada free trade deal. The deal, which has been almost eight years in the making, risked crumbling late last year, when the parliament of the Belgian region of Wallonia refused to give it the green light over concerns regarding labour laws [...]
Now German businesses are calling for post-Brexit partnership with UK February 14, 2017 Firms in Germany want to maintain strong ties with the UK once it departs the EU, the managing director of one of the country's major industry groups has said. "Ideally, we would have a deep and comprehensive partnership agreement on investment and trade," said Markus Kerber of BDI, according to Reuters. Kerber warned the fallout from Brexit could disrupt [...]
Auctioned masterpiece could set a record for German painter Georg Baselitz February 14, 2017 Sotheby’s has estimated Mit Roter Fahne – or With Red Flag, as it’s known in English – could sell for £6.5m-8.5m when it goes up for auction in March. If the 1965 painting could command such as price, it could set a new record for German painter Georg Baselitz. The auction house has witnessed an increase [...]
Almost half of financial advisers think Mifid II will hurt the industry, but a similar proportion aren’t sure what it will mean for them February 14, 2017 Almost half of financial advisers are worried a tougher set of rules for the sector, which are due to come into force in less than a year, will hurt their industry, but a similar proportion also still don't know what it will mean for their own business. Financial firms will have to comply with the [...]
Struggling Co-op Bank is up for sale, but analysts warn nobody may want to, or be able to, buy February 13, 2017 The Co-operative Bank announced this morning it was putting itself up for sale, but analysts have warned it might be tricky to find somebody to snap up the struggling bank. The bank, which is currently 20 per cent owned by the wider Co-operative Group, had been undertaking an ambitious turnaround plan, after a £1.5bn black hole [...]
Lloyds Banking Group eyes Berlin for new EU base post-Brexit February 13, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group is closing in on Berlin as its new EU hub post-Brexit. It was reported last December that the bank, which is the only major UK retail lender without a subsidiary in another EU country, was looking into establishing a base in either the Netherlands or Germany to make sure it still had access [...]
UK firms warned trade with more than 40 non-EU locations will be disrupted post-Brexit, as current trade deals depend on EU membership February 13, 2017 UK firms are today being warned they might want to look further afield than the EU for areas where trade could be interrupted. The UK's current trade arrangements with over 40 locations, including South Korea, Switzerland and Mexico, are in place because of the country's EU membership, warns a report by law firm Clifford Chance and the Confederation of [...]
Brexit not as bad for the UK as we thought, says EU, as it revises country’s growth figures upwards February 13, 2017 The European Commission has become the latest body to lift its UK growth forecast, admitting today that the impact of Brexit might not be as bad as it originally feared. EU forecasters now expect the UK economy to expand 1.5 per cent this year, up from their prediction of just one per cent growth, made [...]
Banks stumbling over hurdles as they race to embrace cloud technology February 13, 2017 Worries about overseeing risk and concerns over security breaches are among the hurdles preventing banks from taking up cloud technology as quickly as other firms, according to a study released today. The report by law firm Pinsent Masons and the British Bankers' Association (BBA) highlights how lenders could become more agile and reduce their costs by using [...]
