Pound rises to 10-week high as fears of a no-deal Brexit recede January 23, 2019 Sterling rose to above $1.30 today reaching a 10-week high as fears of a no-deal Brexit eased. The pound also rose against the Euro to its highest level in a month, rising to near €1.15. Sterling’s rise was helped by hopes that the Labour Party would move to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Labour MP Yvette [...]
Charges dropped against former Tesco executive Carl Rogberg in fraud trial January 23, 2019 The case against the third defendant in the Tesco fraud trial Carl Rogberg has been dropped today. Tesco executive Rogberg, 52, a former finance director at the supermarket giant, was charged with fraud, alongside fellow executives Chris Bush and John Scouler after a hole was found in Tesco’s accounts in 2014, wiping £1.5bn from its [...]
Contract enforceability the ‘elephant in the room’ in Brexit discussions says MP January 22, 2019 Uncertainty around the enforceability of contracts is the “elephant in the room” in Brexit discussions, the chair of the justice select committee said today. Speaking to City A.M., Conservative MP Bob Neill cited insurance contracts and derivatives as examples of areas where there was still a great deal of uncertainty about post-Brexit contract enforceability. EU-based firms [...]
Davos: Brazil’s Bolsonaro promises prudence while US secretary of state Pompeo hails populist wave January 22, 2019 Brazil’s newly elected right-wing populist President Jair Bolsonaro today tried to reassure an audience at the Davos world economic forum that his new regime would be business-friendly and fiscally disciplined. Bolsonaro said he would move to open up Brazil’s economy, reduce and simplify taxes, fight corruption and privatise state companies. “We will reduce the tax [...]
Huawei chair calls for speedy resolution of case against its detained executive January 22, 2019 The chairman of Chinese tech company Huawei said the company will call for a speedy resolution of the case of its detained chief financial officer who is being held in Canada accused of breaking US sanctions on Iran. Liang Hua, who has been appointed as acting chief financial officer, was speaking to media on the [...]
Kantar boss suffered punctured lung in Kew stabbing attack January 22, 2019 The chief executive of market research group Kantar is recovering in hospital from a punctured lung after being stabbed in Kew on Sunday. Eric Salama, 57, was walking to his car in Royal Parade in Kew when he was stabbed in what police say was an attempted robbery. A spokesperson for Kantar said: “We can confirm [...]
Chief executives expect to ramp up hiring in 2019 January 22, 2019 A majority of UK chief executives expect to boost headcount in 2019, a new survey has shown. Sixty one per cent of UK business leaders expect to increase headcount in 2019, up from 54 per cent last year and greater than the worldwide average of 53 per cent. UK chief executives are also optimistic about [...]
Natural catastrophes led to more than half a trillion pounds in losses in the last two years January 22, 2019 Devastating weather catastrophes led to more than half a trillion pounds worth of economic losses in the last two years, making 2017 and 2018 the costliest back-to-back years on record. A series of devastating storms, including Hurricane Michael in the US, Typhoon Jebi in Japan and Typhoon Rumbia in China, helped drive economic losses solely [...]
EU imposes sanctions on Russian military intelligence agents in wake of Salisbury chemical weapons attack January 21, 2019 The European Union has imposed sanctions on four Russian intelligence agents in connection with the chemical weapons attack in Salisbury on former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. The 4 March attack put both the Skripal’s in a coma and led to the death of British woman Dawn Sturgess who was exposed to [...]
Shares rocket in listed law firm Keystone following strong trading update January 21, 2019 Shares in Keystone Law jumped by nearly 15 per cent today after it said it expects to be “comfortably ahead” of market profit expectations for its financial year. Keystone, which became just the third UK firm to float when it went public in November 2017, said it continued to trade strongly in the second half of [...]
