BRC: Businesses face £3bn ‘tariff bombshell’ on no-deal December 11, 2020 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that supermarkets and their customers face a £3.1bn ‘tariff bombshell’ if the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal. The UK’s transition period will end in three weeks and with talks at an impasse, there is growing concern the UK will be left to trade on World [...]
Calisen set to go private in £1.43bn takeover deal December 11, 2020 Smart meter firm Calisen has received a takeover offer less than a year after going public. In an update this morning Calisen announced it had received an offer from Coyote Bidco, a newly incorporated consortium of investors, which values the firm at £1.43bn. Under the terms of the deal, each Calisen shareholder will receive 261 [...]
FTSE 100 slips as no-deal Brexit comes into focus December 11, 2020 The FTSE 100 opened lower as investors digested the prospect of a tighter lockdown in London and a no-deal exit from the EU transition period. London’s blue-chip index fell 0.1 per cent to 6,594 points in early trading. The FTSE 250 of slightly smaller firms dropped 0.2 per cent. The pound – which has been [...]
Zurich and Farmers to buy Metlife property and casualty for $3.9bn December 11, 2020 Zurich Insurance’s subsidiary Farmers Group has agreed to team up with Farmers Exchanges to buy Metlife’s US property and casualty business for $3.94bn (£2.96bn). Zurich will contribute $2.43bn through FGI, while Farmers Exchanges will chip in $1.51bn, Zurich said. “The acquisition significantly increases the potential for growth at the Farmers Exchanges and will further boost [...]
We must review the Gambling Act in the age of the smartphone December 11, 2020 A long overdue review of the Gambling Act must make a clear policy distinction between betting and charity lotteries, argues Carolyn Harris MP, Chair of the Gambling Related Harm All Party Parliamentary Group. With 79 per cent of UK adults owning a smart phone, it’s easier than ever to gamble at the touch of a [...]
Rolls Royce ‘on track’ to deliver £1.3bn cost savings December 11, 2020 Rolls Royce is continuing with its restructuring efforts and today confirmed it is on track to deliver £1.3bn cost savings by 2022. The firm has been battered by the pandemic, with roughly half of its income derived from the hours airlines fly using its engines. It has embarked on restructuring efforts which saw a a [...]
Sanofi and GSK announce delay in coronavirus vaccine programme December 11, 2020 Sanofi and Glaxosmithkline have announced a delay in their vaccine programme after it showed an insufficient immune response in trial results. The firms said they planned to launch another study of the experimental drug next year, with plans to produce a more effective vaccine by the end of 2021. Sanofi said the interim results of [...]
A year on from the election, Boris is ensnared in the classic Conservative leadership trap December 11, 2020 It seemed like all of Boris Johnson’s plans had come together. The Red Wall had tumbled, turning Labour heartlands blue for the first time in history. The Prime Minister would return to the Commons with 364 MPs backing him and his oven-ready Brexit deal. He had vanquished his own party rivals, outplayed a divided Commons, [...]
It’s not about fish, it’s about control December 11, 2020 Throughout the highs and lows of the Brexit rollercoaster over the past five years, there has been precious little that can be regarded as consensus. One thing we can probably agree on, however, is that of the 17,410,742 people who voted to leave the EU, most of them probably didn’t do so on the basis [...]
The late payments problem is easier to fix than you think December 11, 2020 Small businesses will be at the heart of economic recovery. They will launch, create jobs, build, grow, and bristle with vitality. These small businesses deserve all the support they can get at this critical time. It has been argued that they need taxpayer handouts and top-down schemes to get moving again. But not necessarily: for [...]
