Switzerland offers 3,500 work permits for Brits post-Brexit November 25, 2020 The Swiss government has allocated up to 3,500 work permits to let employers recruit staff from the UK, which will no longer be covered by Swiss free-movement rules with the EU post-Brexit. Under the system 3,500 British citizens coming to Switzerland for the first time will be allowed to work in the country. “This ensures [...]
EU prepared for no-deal Brexit, says Ursula von der Leyen November 25, 2020 The European Commission cannot guarantee there will be a trade agreement with Britain, EU chief executive Ursula von Der Leyen has said, adding that the bloc is now prepared for a no-deal Brexit. “The next days are going to be decisive. The European Union is well prepared for a no-deal scenario,” von der Leyen told [...]
Biden: We do not want a guarded border on Ireland November 25, 2020 US President-elect Joe Biden has said America does not want a guarded border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, following Brexit. Speaking to reporters in Delaware Biden said: “We do not want a guarded border. We’ve worked too hard to get Ireland worked out. “The idea of having the border north and south [...]
Virgin Money profit plummets as it takes £501m charge from coronavirus November 25, 2020 Virgin Money has reported a 77 per cent plummet in full-year pre-tax profits as the bank booked a £501m hit from the pandemic. The Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank owner reported underlying annual pre-tax profits of £124m for the 12 months to 30 September 30 — a sharp from £539m last year. Virgin Money booked a [...]
Exclusive: Cautious investors reluctant to launch funds in polarised market, says Savills CEO November 25, 2020 Institutional investors are increasingly reluctant to pour capital into property funds, as the pandemic has turned the sector’s investment cycle upside down, according to Savills group CEO Mark Ridley. Speaking exclusively to City A.M., Ridley said during a wide-ranging interview that October alone saw the third highest level of monthly redemptions ever experienced by open-ended UK real [...]
With Brexit almost in the rear-view mirror, it’s time to get CANZUK done November 25, 2020 As the UK heads into the final weeks of the transition period, it is time for all of us in Westminster, however we may have voted in the past, to make Brexit work and look beyond the EU to our global future. And as we broaden our horizons and open up to the world, it [...]
How smart buildings can power the green revolution November 25, 2020 The Prime Minister’s decision to base last week’s so-called “reset” around a 10-point plan for a green industrial revolution tells us a lot about where he thinks the country needs to go over the next decade. Indeed, it hints at what kind of country we are after Brexit: not one that looks back complacently to [...]
Chinese business group calls for ‘new chapter’ in UK relationship November 24, 2020 The chief executive of the UK arm of the Bank of China has called for a “new chapter” in the relationship between the two nations after a year of increasing political tension. Relations between the UK and China have soured this year, with both the domestic and overseas activities of the world’s second largest economy [...]
Guest opinion: Britain could lose out if it doesn’t open up to China November 24, 2020 Wenjian Fang is the CEO of the Bank of China (UK Ltd) and the Chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce in the UK. Today he issues a warning to Britain that only with Chinese help can Britain achieve its green goals, after the UK Government pushed back on the involvement of companies it believes [...]
Energy firms call on government to embrace emissions trading after Brexit transition ends November 24, 2020 Leading energy companies have urged the UK to embrace carbon trading after the Brexit transition period concludes and not adopt a carbon tax instead. In a letter to Boris Johnson, the group, which includes firms such as RWE and Uniper, said that tradable carbon credits remain the best way of cutting emissions. At the moment, [...]