Scotland’s fishermen halt EU exports amidst post-Brexit ‘catastrophe’ January 8, 2021 Scottish fishermen have reportedly frozen exports to the EU due to a sudden rise in export costs and skewed delivery times after post-Brexit delays at ports. Fishing export businesses are faced with the introduction of health certificates, customs declarations and other paperwork increase export costs and timings. “Our customers are pulling out,” Santiago Buesa of [...]
London hotel investment expected to boom in 2021 as vaccine roll-out whets investor appetite January 8, 2021 Investor appetite for central London hotel assets is expected to boom in 2021 due to the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccines, strengthened by opportunities presented by the pandemic and Brexit. Analysis by estate agent chain Knight Frank predicted strong demand for hotel investment this year once the pandemic eases and borders and airways reopen, with the sector [...]
The Imitation Game: Turing Scheme could be even better than Erasmus January 8, 2021 The UK’s final and definitive secession from the European Union has caused the gnashing of Remainer teeth for a hundred reasons, but one of the most prominent in the past week or so has been the end of British participation in the Erasmus+ student exchange programme. This pan-EU project allows students from member states to [...]
Equity funds ride ‘coronacoaster’ to finish 2020 on a high January 7, 2021 Global equity funds closed a torrid year on a record high as investors were buoyed by news of a vaccine rollout. November saw savers invest a record £8.3bn, beating the previous record of £5.7bn net retail sales from September 2017, according to data from the Investment Association (IA). With interest rates at almost zero investors [...]
Debenhams shuts Irish website as Brexit ‘rule of origin’ clause leaves businesses blindsided January 7, 2021 Debenhams has shut its online business in Ireland as it is unable to send orders to the Republic of Ireland due to new Brexit trade rules. The business, which is in administration, said the website was “temporarily closed” but gave no details on if and when it would be back online. The website apologised to [...]
Exclusive: ‘We must be brave and move away from the EU’s way of thinking’, says Tech Nation chair January 7, 2021 After what was a difficult year for tech firms, City A.M. sat down with Stephen Kelly, chairman of Tech Nation, the industry body that represents UK startups and runs Britain’s Tech Nation visa scheme for foreign entrepreneurs. Brexit has just taken place, how will this impact London’s startup space? Brexit is the UK’s opportunity to [...]
Will Europe’s smaller companies deliver big returns? January 7, 2021 European equities have been largely unloved by investors for some time, having lagged their global peers over the past decade: the MSCI Europe ex UK Index has grown by circa 6% pa whilst the MSCI World Index is up circa 11% pa. European smaller companies have fared markedly better than their large cap counterparts however, [...]
The case for investing in financials January 7, 2021 Entire tomes have been devoted to investing in the financial services sector – hardly surprising when you consider its size, and therefore its significance to the world’s capital markets. To say the financial sector is large doesn’t do it justice. Of the total market capitalisation of the S&P 500, the world’s largest stock market index, [...]
Ryanair cuts traffic forecasts again as carrier slams ‘brutal lockdowns’ January 7, 2021 Ryanair has cut its traffic forecast for the full financial year to 26m-30m passengers, just a fifth of last year’s number, amid the new coronavirus lockdowns. The Irish carrier said that due to new restrictions in the UK, Ireland, and parts of the EU, it would reduce flights from 21 January. Few, if any, flights [...]
UK PMIs: Construction activity continues growth in December January 7, 2021 Construction activity continued to recover in December, helped by higher order books and resumption of work that had been delayed due to the pandemic. The IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers (PMI) index for construction scored 54.6 in December, with any score above the 50 mark indicating growth. The reading was more or less unchanged from November, when a [...]