Christmas came early: Here are all of the gifts foreign leaders gave Prime Minister David Cameron this year December 17, 2015 Two rugs, alcohol, a glass art platter and bronze coins: these are just some of the presents Prime Minister David Cameron has received from foreign leaders this year. Government papers published today reveal that Cameron received more than a dozen gifts from foreign leaders between April and September of this year. Too bad he can't [...]
Standard Chartered poaches Simon Cooper from HSBC to run Corporate and Institutional Banking business December 17, 2015 Standard Chartered has hired a top executive from HSBC to run its corporate and institutional banking (CIB) business. The Asia-focused bank said this morning that Simon Cooper would join the group in April of next year as CIB chief executive. Cooper's appointment is just the latest step for Standard Chartered in executing the new turnaround strategy it [...]
Government publishes Lord Strathclyde review following House of Lords vote on tax credit cuts December 17, 2015 The House of Commons should be given the final say on all secondary legislation, a leading peer has recommended. In a highly-anticipated report published today, Lord Strathclyde recommended creating a new procedure allowing the House of Lords to ask the House of Commons to "think again" on certain pieces of legislation, but giving the final say to the elected House of Commons. In [...]
EU referendum: British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Confederation of British Industry (CBI) put pressure on David Cameron ahead of EU summit December 17, 2015 Britain's biggest business groups are putting pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron today as he heads to Brussels for a two-day meeting of European Union leaders. British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) director-general John Longworth said the summit “may prove a tipping point” in Cameron’s efforts to secure EU reforms. “Many business leaders are judging the [...]
London airport expansion: 50+ business leaders including Michael Spencer, Sir Martin Sorrell and Martin Gilbert tell David Cameron to “get a grip” December 16, 2015 More than 50 business leaders, including dozens of chairmen and chief executives of blue-chips, will hit out at the government tomorrow over its failure to make a decision on airport expansion. In an open letter to be sent to Prime Minister David Cameron, ICAP chief executive Michael Spencer, WPP chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell and Aberdeen [...]
Andrew Tyrie warns Lord Strathclyde over House of Lords vote on tax credit cuts December 16, 2015 An influential group of MPs has issued a stark warning to peers not to interfere in tax and spend policies. In a letter to Lord Strathclyde on behalf of the Treasury committee, committee chair Andrew Tyrie said that the “exclusive authority of the House of Commons in matters of taxation and expenditure” must be protected. “Only [...]
Slowdown in China is the biggest global risk for 2016, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit December 16, 2015 Leading experts have warned that a persistent slowdown in Chinese growth is the biggest threat to the global economic outlook. Analysts at the Economist Intelligence Unit (EU) said in a new report out today that the Chinese economy is facing “formidable challenges”, citing volatility in the domestic equity markets, slipping export figures and lower capital [...]
EU referendum: New Open Europe poll shows David Cameron’s renegotiation efforts will have “huge impact” on Brexit vote December 16, 2015 A new poll out today shows that Prime Minister David Cameron’s renegotiation efforts with the European Union could have a “huge impact” on the EU referendum, putting fresh pressure on Cameron just one day before he heads to Brussels to make his case to EU leaders. The ComRes poll, conducted for the think tank Open Europe, [...]
Top regulator Andrew Bailey writes to challenger banks over Basel Committee buy-to-let capital requirement proposals December 15, 2015 A top City regulator has taken new steps to reassure Britain’s challenger banks about capital requirements ahead of a meeting today between bank bosses and Treasury officials. In a letter sent to challenger bank bosses today, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) chief executive Andrew Bailey said that smaller lenders should not be overly worried about the [...]
EU referendum: former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski says benefit tourism is propaganda while mayor of London Boris Johnson pushes for UK opt-out from EU open borders December 14, 2015 Former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski hit out at the British government’s proposals to curb welfare benefits for European migrants today, telling an audience in London that so-called benefits tourism is “propaganda”. “This issue of benefits tourism has been set up in the public domain,” he said. “The figures don’t confirm it. “We had 300,000 [...]
