Debenhams strikes back against Mike Ashley with ‘advanced’ plans to raise £110m March 11, 2019 Debenhams said “advanced negotiations” are underway to secure up to £150m in loans to keep it alive this morning, as it fights back against Mike Ashley’s bid to oust the board. The struggling retailer said the £40m bridging loan it secured in early February comprises part of this sum, but that it is seeking to [...]
MPs investigate Debenhams’ pension schemes as retailer struggles to stay afloat March 8, 2019 MPs are scrutinising the Pensions Regulator’s possible involvement in Debenhams’ refinancing discussions after the retailer issued a second profit warning earlier this week. Read more: Debenhams shares jump on Mike Ashley power grab Work and pensions committee chair Frank Field wrote to the regulator’s chief executive, Lesley Titcomb, to probe its involvement with the struggling [...]
May calls on EU for ‘one last push’ to get a Brexit deal through parliament March 8, 2019 Theresa May today called on the EU to make “one more push” to reach agreement on a Brexit deal before time runs out. Read more: Theresa May is a home secretary dressed up as Prime Minister Addressing workers at a Grimsby energy company, the Prime Minister repeatedly said “Let’s get it done” in an appeal [...]
May presses EU to commit to Brexit backstop changes as parliament vote approaches March 8, 2019 The Prime Minister is set to urge the EU to commit to legally binding changes to the so-called Irish backstop today, as she seeks to get her Brexit deal through parliament. Read more: Theresa May is a home secretary dressed up as Prime Minister Theresa May will say the EU’s decisions can “have a big [...]
Chinese exports suffer biggest drop in three years amid US-China trade war March 8, 2019 Chinese exports fell at their fastest rate in three years last month as fears grow about the world’s second largest economy. Read more: China backs Huawei's bid to sue United States The US-China trade war sent exports to a 20.7 per cent year-on-year drop, official data revealed, as imports fell 5.2 per cent. Markets reacted [...]
Lawyer apologises for Carlos Ghosn’s bail ‘disguise’ March 8, 2019 Carlos Ghosn’s lawyer has apologised for his “amateur plan” to disguise the car industry titan as a manual labourer on his release from prison yesterday. The former Nissan boss, was identified within moments of leaving a Tokyo jail on Wednesday despite wearing a facemask, overalls, yellow reflective braces and a cap. Japanese media mocked the [...]
UK house prices: Experts cast doubt on ‘volatile’ Halifax price hike figures March 7, 2019 House prices rose almost three per cent at the start of 2019 compared to the same period last year, new figures revealed today. Annual house price growth hit 2.8 per cent in the three months to February compared to the corresponding time in 2018, Halifax’s house price index said today – much higher than the [...]
Runway East plugs £1m into 1,000-person startup hub in London Bridge March 7, 2019 London startup workspace provider Runway East has announced plans to double the size of its existing South London hub to accommodate 1,000 workers. Read more: London startup space Tech Hub grabs new Shoreditch venue in City expansion The firm told City A.M. it will spend £1m on the expansion, in response to high demand from [...]
Zuckerberg leans in to ‘privacy-focused’ future at Facebook with encrypted merger March 7, 2019 Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg has said the social media giant will be encrypting more of its messaging services, calling it “the right thing to do”. Writing in a Facebook post late last night, Zuckerberg said Facebook users would be able to message Whatsapp users through Messenger, and vice versa. Read more: Facebook faces paying billions [...]
Police evacuate Glasgow and Essex universities after reports of suspicious packages March 6, 2019 Universities in Essex and Glasgow have been partly evacuated today as police investigate reports of suspicious packages. Read more: Police investigating explosives at Waterloo and City and Heathrow Airports The evacuations come after police found IEDs at two London airports and a train station yesterday. Essex Police said: “We have received a call today about [...]