British Steel pension scheme trustees secure £2bn buyout October 22, 2020 Trustees of collapsed British Steel’s pension scheme have agreed a £2bn deal with insurers to secure the pensions of 30,000 staff. The agreement will see the Pension Insurance Corporation buy out the existing scheme at or above the level of compensation supplied by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). The Old British Steel Pension Scheme (OBSPS) [...]
UK strikes deal with Norway to continue trade in case of no-deal Brexit October 22, 2020 The UK has signed a temporary agreement with Norway to ensure trade of goods can continue between the two nations in the case of a no-deal Brexit after 31 December
The City View: Francis Maude on ‘defensive’ and ‘deeply flawed’ civil service October 22, 2020 In this episode Christian talks to Lord Maude, a veteran of Tory politics whose career spanned nearly 40 years from the government of Margaret Thatcher to David Cameron’s 2015 majority. Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Maude, who was a signatory to the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, talks about the current Brexit negotiations and says [...]
CANZUK is a cause in need of a champion — enter Jacinda Ardern October 22, 2020 This past weekend’s sweeping victory for New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern brought her Labour Party its largest majority in five decades. Unusually for New Zealand politics, this could mean that Ardern oversees a government without any coalition partners. Yet she appears keen to consider a coalition government nonetheless. It is to that spirit of [...]
UK marketing slump continues after Covid-19 sparks record decline October 22, 2020 British companies reported another “drastic” cut in marketing budgets in the third quarter after the outbreak of coronavirus sparked the largest ever decline in spend. The Covid-19 pandemic has prompted a sharp drop in ad spend across all formats, with negative sentiment leading marketers to slash budgets. A net balance of -41.0 per cent of [...]
Ed Miliband calls on government to extend ‘wrongful trading’ suspension until end of year October 21, 2020 Shadow business secretary Ed Miliband has urged the government to extend the suspension of “wrongful trading” rules to the end of the year or risk a flurry of firms going bankrupt. Back in March, ministers introduced a temporary protection for business directors to protect them from liability if they kept trading despite facing bankruptcy due [...]
Ant Group gets final approval for world’s biggest stock market float October 21, 2020 China’s Ant Group today won the final nod from regulators for its $35bn (£26.6bn) initial public offering, clearing the way for what could be the largest-ever stock market debut. The fintech giant, which is backed by Chinese ecommerce group Alibaba, today won approval from the country’s top securities watchdog for its registration in Shanghai. Ant [...]
Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial to continue despite participant death October 21, 2020 Trials of Oxford University and Astrazeneca’s [LON:AZN] coronavirus vaccine will continue despite the death of a participant in Brazil. A spokesperson for the university said that a review of the death had not revealed any safety concerns. “Following careful assessment of this case in Brazil, there have been no concerns about safety of the clinical [...]
Robert Zemeckis The Witches is a dark Dahl triumph October 21, 2020 Readers over a certain age will remember losing sleep over the 1990 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s book The Witches, in which Anjelica Huston donned hideous prosthetics that are still unsettling to this day. It perfectly captured the spirit of Roald Dahl’s storytelling, which always towed the line between wonder and abject terror. Robert Zemeckis (Back [...]
HSBC ‘to cut 300 jobs’ in overhaul of UK commercial banking October 21, 2020 HSBC has reportedly launched a restructuring of its commercial banking business in the UK that will lead to around 300 job cuts. The cuts are part of a wider strategy overhaul announced by the banking giant earlier this year as it seeks to slash costs and reinvigorate its business in the face of global economic [...]
