Activision deal: Survey says CMA wrong to block Microsoft tie-up May 8, 2023 A quarter of the public thought the UK competition watchdog was wrong to block Microsoft’s $70b deal to acquire Activision Blizzard, a new poll has found. One in four of the public were opposed to the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) decision to block the deal, while a further 16 percent thought it was [...]
Sunak to meet Oz and NZ leaders as trade deal – which promises cheaper manuka honey and Jacob’s Creek – takes effect May 5, 2023 Rishi Sunak is set to welcome the leaders of Australia and New Zealand to No10 ahead of the UK’s landmark post-Brexit trade deals coming into force. The prime minister will meet Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Chris Hipkins, prime minister of New Zealand, in Downing Street today. It comes as the UK’s trade deals with [...]
Local elections analysis: Do results suggest fear of complacency was misplaced? May 5, 2023 Poll leads can be a tricky thing for opposition parties, as Labour has shown in recent weeks. Lean in too far and risk appearing complacent. But downplay it too much, and you could fail to capitalise on a popularity boost. What everyone – from activists to frontbenchers – really want is cold, hard evidence of [...]
Post-Brexit powers mean regulators need greater oversight, City figures warn May 5, 2023 Ex-ministers and City figures have warned that the government is not doing enough to improve the scrutiny of regulators after Brexit, in a sign that past rows about protecting the independence of the UK’s top financial regulators could resurface in the coming months. Following Brexit, UK financial regulators, such as the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) and [...]
Dyson pours £100m into new Bristol tech centre as part of £2.75bn investment plan May 3, 2023 Dyson is pouring £100 million into a new technology centre in the UK, in addition to a new site in the Philippines and factory in Singapore, as part of its £2.75bn five-year investment plan. Dyson, which makes vacuum cleaners, fans and hair appliances, said today the new Bristol centre would be home to hundreds of [...]
English football eyes change to post-Brexit transfers – here’s what it means May 2, 2023 For better or for worse remains to be seen, but Brexit’s impact on English football has changed the game for how teams now operate in the transfer market. Clubs now face various legal hurdles and visa requirements to get international talent in their colours, with immigration rules allowing teams to sponsor an elite player who [...]
Venkat: Barclays boss at ’95 per cent’ after cancer scare as he warns on UK economy April 30, 2023 The Barclays boss Venkat has said he is running at ’95 per cent’ after a cancer scare at the back end of last year. Coimbatore Sundararajan Venkatakrishnan, better known as Venkat, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma last autumn, but has told The Sunday Times that “my energy levels are 95 per cent – not 100 [...]
UK must change post-Brexit visa rules to help firms with labour shortages, report says April 29, 2023 The UK government needs to change post-Brexit visa rules in order to help firms overcome worsening labour shortages, UK lawmakers have said in a new report. The complexity of visa regulations in the wake of Britain exiting the EU has proved a “significant barrier to mobility”, a report by the House of Lords European Affairs [...]
Explainer: The Brexit bonfire of EU laws turns into dust April 28, 2023 Rishi Sunak has smothered the “Brexit bonfire” of EU laws – and hard-line Brexiteers are fuming with rage. But the prime minister smartly refused to be the face of this u-turn, putting business secretary Kemi Badenoch on the front stage herself. This week, Badenoch had to tell Brexiteers in her party that the majority of [...]
Post-Brexit visa rules hurting London tourism industry, Sadiq Khan warns April 27, 2023 The mayor has called on the government to ease travel rules around European school children, language students and hospitality, construction and retail workers.