US gives China 72 hours to shutter Houston embassy as spy charges rise July 22, 2020 Washington has given China just 72 hours to close its consulate in Houston, after the US accused two Chinese nationals of spying on US businesses and researchers. The warning marks a significant deterioration in relations between the world’s two largest economies, ramping up a war of words on both sides. The US State Department said [...]
UK companies lobby Mike Pompeo to ease travel restrictions and end tariff dispute July 22, 2020 A group of prominent UK companies used a meting to pressure US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and foreign secretary Dominic Raab to ease aviation restrictions and settle a long-running tariff dispute. Members of the BritishAmerican Business (BAB) lobby group met with Pompeo and Raab in London yesterday to discuss the two countries’ future trading [...]
Sports Direct owner Mike Ashley warns of closures after business rates review delay July 22, 2020 Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group, formerly known as Sports Direct, has warned it could be forced to close stores after the government delayed a business rates review. The government has promised a “fundamental review” into the long-term future of business rates. In March it gave retail, hospitality and leisure businesses a year-long holiday from the tax [...]
Oliver Dowden: Joe Biden presidency will not change UK Huawei sanctions July 22, 2020 The UK’s sanctions on Huawei are unlikely to be lifted if Joe Biden wins the November US election, according to digital secretary Oliver Dowden. The UK banned Huawei from supplying any more equipment to build the UK’s new 5G network, beginning from next year, after the US leveled sanctions on the Chinese telecoms giant. All [...]
Exclusive: MPs ask banks for clarity on state aid rules and coronavirus loans July 22, 2020 A group of MPs and Lords has written to lenders to try to ensure they take into account changes to EU state aid rules that could boost the UK’s coronavirus loan scheme, amid confusion about the alterations. It came as business group UK Hospitality urged the government to take the lead and make sure the [...]
Former Wirecard boss Markus Braun arrested for second time July 22, 2020 The former chief executive of Wirecard has been rearrested as Munich prosecutors accuse him of committing a multiyear fraud. Markus Braun stepped down from the company last month after being accused of misrepresenting the payments company’s accounts and of market manipulation by falsifying income from transactions with so-called third-party acquirers. The Financial Times reported prosecutors [...]
FTSE 100 slips as doubts set in about new US stimulus July 22, 2020 The FTSE 100 continued to trade in the red on Wednesday afternoon as US coronavirus cases continued to rise and investors doubted Congress would pass another stimulus bill within two weeks. London’s blue-chip index shed 0.59 per cent by 3pm to 6,232 points. The FTSE 250 edged up 0.15 per cent however. It came after [...]
Former BBC boss Mark Thompson steps down as New York Times chief July 22, 2020 Mark Thompson, a former boss at the BBC and Channel 4, is to step down as chief executive of the New York Times. He will be replaced by the newspaper’s chief operating officer Meredith Kopit Levien, who was also previously its advertising head. Levien said she intends to focus on expanding the newspaper’s subscription model, [...]
Labour calls for review of Russia Today’s UK TV licence July 22, 2020 Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for state-backed broadcaster Russia Today (RT) to have its TV licence reviewed on the back of fresh warnings about Kremlin interference in the UK. Starmer called on Boris Johnson at today’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) to “stop the spread of Kremlin-backed disinformation”, adding that the UK’s High Court [...]
Facebook and Instagram to examine algorithm in racial bias investigation July 22, 2020 Facebook has said it is establishing two new groups to assess whether its policies and algorithms are racially biased, following a major advertising boycott against the social media giant. Facebook will set up an Inclusive Product Council, with a similar Equity Team at its sister app Instagram, to explore whether there are “potential biases” across [...]
