Starters, mains and a side order of inducement: why that extra bottle could land you in trouble September 20, 2021 Many financial services sector city workers who have been working from home over the last eighteen months are now emerging butterfly-like from their home-office chrysalis and returning to the office. Enthusiasm and appetite for the working lunch have also returned, with socialising around work firmly back on the menu. It is not surprising to read [...]
New poll: 53 per cent of UK thinks Brexit deal has ‘created more problems than it solved’ September 20, 2021 More than half the UK believes Boris Johnson’s Brexit Withdrawal Agreement “has created more problems than it [has] solved”, according to new polling. The survey by Opinium on behalf of Best for Britain, an anti-Brexit think tank, found just 15 per cent of people think it has done the opposite. The survey also found that [...]
New international trade secretary to call for easier online trade in first speech September 20, 2021 The new international trade secretary will today outline a five-point plan to make it easier for businesses to digitally sell their products overseas. Anne-Marie Trevelyan will use her first speech since being appointed to the role to call for a reduction to “digital barriers” from “countries who take a protectionist approach” at London Tech Week. [...]
Exclusive: London’s first ever data charter launched September 20, 2021 One of London’s leading business associations has today launched the capital’s first ever Data Charter to help businesses tackle some of the biggest challenges facing the city. Drawn up by law firm Pinsent Masons for London First, the charter provides a framework for private and public companies across the city to collaborate and share data. [...]
Heathrow vs airlines: Dispute intensifies over plans to double airport charges September 19, 2021 Airlines have condemned Heathrow over plans to almost double landing charges, in the airport’s latest attempt to claw back losses after the pandemic halted international travel. Long-haul passenger charges will surge from £38.33 per traveller this year to £67.86 in 2022, according to leaked Heathrow proposals first reported by the Telegraph. But airline carriers have [...]
UK energy provider Bulb seeks emergency fund injection September 19, 2021 The UK’s sixth largest energy company, Bulb, is racing to secure an emergency cash injection to avoid collapse as a record spike in energy prices uproots the sector. The energy startup, which supplies electricity and gas to 1.7m customers in the UK, is seeking advice from investment bank Lazard in an attempt to shore up [...]
China doubles down on private sector onslaught September 19, 2021 China’s top regulators have defended their intensifying clampdown on several industries of the country’s economy at a meeting with Wall Street executives. The vice chair of the China Securities Regulatory Commission told leaders of some of the US’s largest companies that its crackdown of consumer-facing and tech businesses was intended to improve data privacy and [...]
BA owner IAG says group will not tap investors for recovery funds September 19, 2021 British Airways owner IAG will not follow in Easyjet’s footsteps by raising billions of euros from shareholders to pull through the extended Covid crisis, the group’s chief executive has said. City eyes had turned to IAG with the expectation that it would be forced to follow Easyjet, whose shares nosedived earlier this month when it [...]
Xi Jinping yet to confirm Cop26 attendance, says Sharma September 19, 2021 Chinese premier Xi Jinping has not yet confirmed that he will attend the United Nations Cop26 climate change summit in Glasgow this year, Alok Sharma has said. Sharma, the Cop26 president, held two days of talks earlier this year in China in an attempt to cajole the country’s leadership to commit to the landmark summit. [...]
Former chancellor Hammond’s PE firm eyeing government contractor Amey September 19, 2021 Former chancellor Philip Hammond’s private equity firm is scheming to buy one of the government’s largest private sector contractors for £300m. According to Sky News, Buckthorn, the private equity firm who employs Hammond as a partner, has moved to acquire Amey. Buckthorn has submitted a bid for Amey as part of an auction being organised [...]
