Clifford Chance bids farewell to gendered language December 11, 2020 You may have missed it between Brexit drama and more Covid-19 news, but this week Clifford Chance announced it had ditched traditional gendered language like “Dears Sir” in its communications. The move aligns it with a growing trend in the legal sector to make language less gendered. The magic circle law firm is making efforts [...]
UK tourists banned from EU travel from 1 January December 11, 2020 British holidaymakers will be temporarily banned from travelling to the EU on 1 January, with Brussels saying its travel exemption will be taken away after the Brexit transition period ends. Very few non-EU or EEA countries, with low Covid rates, are allowed to travel to member states under current restrictions. Borders are still open to [...]
Morgan Stanley: UK bank shares could fall 20 per cent in no-deal Brexit December 11, 2020 Morgan Stanley has said UK bank shares could tumble 10 to 20 per cent in a no-deal Brexit, with the FTSE 250 dropping as much as 10 per cent. It comes as the UK and EU struggle to sign a free-trade agreement. Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday said a no-deal Brexit outcome was now a [...]
UK companies are cheap: the smaller the cheaper December 11, 2020 UK stocks have lagged their global peers, but is the stage set for a change of fortune? Many investors in UK stocks have looked on enviously at the super-sized returns that global stocks, and US stocks in particular, have been able to deliver over recent years. That all changed this month. As of 18 November, [...]
Competition watchdog refers O2-Virgin merger for in-depth investigation December 11, 2020 The UK competition regulator has referred the £31bn O2-Virgin merger for in-depth investigation. Liberty Global and Telefonica, the respective owners of Virgin Media and O2, struck a deal to merge their UK operations back in May. Last month the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched its phase one investigation into the mega-merger, arguing the potential [...]
No-deal Brexit likeliest outcome, Ursula von der Leyen tells EU leaders December 11, 2020 A no-deal Brexit is now likelier than the UK leaving the transition period with a trade deal, Ursula von der Leyen has told EU leaders. Speaking on the second day of a two-day summit in Brussels, the European Commission president refused to put a percentage on the chances of agreement but told EU leaders there [...]
UK signs free-trade deals with Vietnam and Singapore December 11, 2020 The UK has signed a continuity free-trade agreement with Vietnam the day after it penned a deal with Singapore. The Singapore deal protects trade that was worth £17.6bn last year while the Vietnam agreement protects £5.7bn of trade, the government said. Trade secretary Liz Truss, who is in south east Asia, said: “Both these agreements are [...]
BoE gives lenders all-clear and extends zero capital buffer December 11, 2020 The Bank of England has said the UK’s lenders are strong enough to withstand an economic shock much worse than the one currently predicted, but extended the period in which banks can hold reduced capital buffers to try to encourage lending. Despite the all-clear, the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) said that Brexit could cause [...]
BRC: Businesses face £3bn ‘tariff bombshell’ on no-deal December 11, 2020 The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned that supermarkets and their customers face a £3.1bn ‘tariff bombshell’ if the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal. The UK’s transition period will end in three weeks and with talks at an impasse, there is growing concern the UK will be left to trade on World [...]
EU agrees deal to cut carbon emissions 55 per cent by 2030 December 11, 2020 EU leaders have agreed to set an ambitious target of slashing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent over the next decade. The figure marks a significant increase on a target to reduce emissions by 40 per cent set in September. The deal comes after more than 10 hours of intense discussions overnight, as several [...]