Local elections: Labour has become a metropolitan party disconnected from its political roots May 5, 2021 For Keir Starmer the elections on May 6 have become more of a challenge than an opportunity. Having brought Labour back level with the Conservatives in the polls last autumn, they turned against him again from February this year. Despite the seemingly endless narrative of prime ministerial scandal and the public’s declared scepticism as to [...]
UK to scrap EU rule giving choice of clearer in derivatives May 5, 2021 Britain will scrap a rule inherited from the European Union that aimed to open the listed derivatives market to more competition, saying it was not appropriate to implement alone. The UK had championed the open access rule, which allows buyers and sellers of derivatives listed on exchanges across the EU to choose where they clear [...]
Ikea launches scheme to buy back used furniture after pandemic delays May 5, 2021 Ikea has launched a service allowing customers to sell furniture back to the store after the planned start date was delayed due to the pandemic. The Swedish homewares giant said the buy back scheme will be available to UK customers from today. Customers will be able to sell furniture they no longer need back to [...]
Amazon pays no European corporation tax despite record sales last year May 4, 2021 Amazon reportedly did not pay any corporation tax in Europe last year despite reporting record sales, raising fresh questions over the ecommerce giant’s tax planning. The US firm, which has its European headquarters in Luxembourg, recorded sales income of €44bn (£38bn) in the region last year but reportedly not have to pay any corporation tax [...]
Treasury minister trumpets City of London resilience post-Brexit May 4, 2021 City minister John Glen has trumpeted the City of London’s ability to adapt post-Brexit, saying there has only been a “modest” amount of jobs lost since the 2016 referendum. Glen said a great number of “journalists and academics” had been proved wrong about the expected mass movement of jobs from the City to other European [...]
‘I’m somebody who enjoys winning’: Sadiq Khan plots out a second mayoral term May 4, 2021 If the polls are to be believed Sadiq Khan will win Thursday’s mayor of London election by a record margin. Khan’s 20+ point lead has never slipped and his opponents have never laid a glove on him, despite having an extra year of campaigning thanks to Covid. The Labour incumbent has ran an energetic and [...]
General Electric shareholders reject CEO’s mammoth $73.2m pay package May 4, 2021 A majority of shareholders at General Electric have rejected pay packages for senior officers, including CEO Larry Culp, who was set to receive a package worth $73.2m for 2020. Nearly 58 per cent of shareholders rejected GE’s pay packages, a strong rebuke to executives of the industrial company, which is in the middle of a [...]
Central Line strike planned for election day suspended as union officials hold talks with Tube bosses May 4, 2021 A Central Line strike planned to coincide with the Mayoral election this week has been suspended. The Rail, Transport and Maritime (RMT) union had previously called for industrial action following the “victimisation” and subsequent sacking of tube driver, and union rep, Gary Carney. However, today union bosses told members at Leytonstone, Loughton, West Ruislip and [...]
FTSE ends day with slump as Wall Street’s Nasdaq plunges nearly three per cent May 4, 2021 The FTSE 100 slipped back below the 7,000 point mark by the market close, despite a strong start to the week’s trading after the Bank Holiday weekend. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index fell 0.67 per cent by the end of the day, with banking stocks, including HSBC Holdings, Barclays and Standard Chartered posing the biggest drag on [...]
Brussels recommends member states block UK from Lugano Convention May 4, 2021 The EU Commission has recommended that the EU does not give consent for the UK to join the Lugano Convention, an international legal pact. In an update today, the EU Commission said the Convention was designed to support third countries with particularly close regulatory integration with the EU, including being aligned with part of the [...]