Exclusive: Brexit hit to London may top £9.5bn a year without EU financial services deal February 10, 2021 As the heart of the UK's service sector economy, London is in line to lose up to £9.9bn a year if a post-Brexit deal on financial services doesn't protect the City, new research out this morning finds.
Tiktok’s forced sale to Oracle halted as Biden reviews China policy February 10, 2021 Tiktok’s sale of its US business to Oracle and Walmart has reportedly been put on ice as President Joe Biden reviews the Trump administration’s crackdown on Chinese firms. The video platform had been forced into offloading its American unit by former president Trump, who argued user data could be shared with Beijing. Tiktok has always [...]
Brexit: Restoration of common law principles gives financial services the tools to be innovative February 10, 2021 Now that the UK has left the EU, it is time that we re-set the legal framework of our financial services. This is not the emotional reaction of a Brexit optimist – although I do believe that there are many advantages to our leaving the European Union – but rather a pragmatic assessment based on [...]
BoE rules out big capital reduction for insurers after Brexit February 10, 2021 The Bank of England has told insurers not to expect any big reductions in capital requirements after Brexit, adding that more capital could be “part of the answer” to meeting a £1.7bn bill for Covid-19 claims. Solvency II rules, inherited from Britain’s membership of the EU, are under review, amid calls from insurers and lawmakers [...]
UK property developers hit with new taxes to pay for unsafe cladding removal post-Grenfell February 10, 2021 Shares in major UK property developers have fallen this afternoon, after an announcement that they will be hit with new taxes to pay for the government’s unsafe cladding removal scheme. Housing secretary Robert Jenrick today announced two new taxes on UK property developers to help pay for the government’s efforts to remove unsafe cladding from [...]
Boris Johnson tells firms to ‘wait for Budget’ for verdict on business rates holiday extension February 10, 2021 Boris Johnson has said there will be no announcement on a potential extension to the business rates holiday until the 3 March Budget. The Prime Minister told MPs today that the “government is committed to supporting businesses and people’s livelihoods throughout the pandemic” and that UK businesses should “wait for the chancellor’s Budget to explain [...]
Pound sterling touches three-year high against US dollar at $1.38 on vaccine success February 10, 2021 GBP hit a three-year high against the US dollar this morning, with vaccine optimism boostong pound sterling
Best of travel: Coachella’s lesser known Desert X festival February 10, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. This week we revisit Laura Millar’s exploration of Coachella’s other contemporary art festival. Read more: Jaguar XF P300 review: revitalised luxury at a surprisingly low price ••• The locals were… curious. For the past few weeks, as they’d [...]
Easyjet boss calls for government to share way out of new quarantine measures February 10, 2021 Easyjet’s chief executive has today called on the government to provide details of how it will relax its current border restrictions in order to give people the confidence to travel again. Yesterday ministers unveiled details of a new hotel quarantine policy, which will see travellers from 33 red-list countries forced to pay £1,750 to spend [...]
UK financial services sector maintains stable tax contribution amid Brexit and COVID-19 uncertainty February 10, 2021 A new report published by the City of London Corporation today (10 February), shows that the UK’s financial services sector contributed a record £75.6bn in tax in the year to March 2020 – a period covering significant uncertainty about the UK’s relationship with the European Union. This contribution remained stable compared to the previous year’s [...]