Nissan: Sunderland plant still under threat from no-deal Brexit June 3, 2020 Nissan’s Sunderland plant will be “unsustainable” if the UK leaves the EU without a trade deal, the car manufacturer has said. Global chief operating officer Ashwani Gupta said the EU was the factory’s biggest customer and Nissan could not maintain its commitment if there were no tariff-free access to the trade bloc. The Japanese car [...]
Downing Street: Reports of UK compromise on Brexit talks is ‘wishful thinking’ June 2, 2020 Downing Street has dismissed speculation that the UK is preparing to compromise on fisheries and level playing field rules during Brexit trade talks with the EU. The Times reported today that EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier expected the UK begin to cave on the two major stumbling blocks to negotiations in this week’s negotiating round. [...]
UK coronavirus loans top £31bn but just half of CBILs approved June 2, 2020 UK businesses have borrowed £31bn from banks through the government’s coronavirus loan scheme, but the approval rate on its flagship CBILs programme is still languishing at around 50 per cent. Figures released today showed that the three main coronavirus loan schemes have helped firms access £31.3bn. The bulk has been through the “bounce-back” loan scheme, [...]
Boris Johnson targets Brexit trade talks with von der Leyen to agree summer deal June 2, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson is planning to hold Brexit trade talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in June, it is reported, with hopes of securing a deal before autumn, it is reported. “We need a broad agreement in place by the summer,” an unnamed UK official was quoted as saying by the [...]
Brexit: No breakthroughs expected in fresh round of UK-EU trade talks June 1, 2020 No major breakthroughs are expected in Brexit trade talks this week as UK and EU negotiators remain deadlocked on several major areas. Sources close to the UK negotiating team said they were not expecting much progress on the biggest flashpoints – such as EU access to UK fishing waters and business competition regulations – over [...]
Sadiq Khan calls for extension to Brexit transition period June 1, 2020 Sadiq Khan has called for an extension to the 31 December deadline for Brexit trade talks between the UK and EU as the two sides meet for the latest negotiating round today. The mayor of London wrote today to chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Michael Gove, the minister responsible for the talks, to say [...]
City urges government to hand coronavirus loans to firms hit by EU state aid rules June 1, 2020 UK business groups have urged the government to find a way around EU state aid rules that have stopped British businesses from receiving coronavirus loans. The CBI, British Retail Consortium and UK Hospitality have written to economic secretary John Glen urging him to extend the coronavirus loans scheme to firms that have failed to secure [...]
Hulsman: Britain is forging a new path in foreign policy June 1, 2020 It is my favourite Churchill quote, even though the great man may not actually have said it (though he certainly felt it): “Americans will always do the right thing—after exhausting all the alternatives.” As someone who has lived the Special Relationship, the quip perfectly captures Washington’s habitual initial analytical short-sightedness, as well as the dogged [...]
Exclusive: Financial services firms unlikely to return to the ‘old normal’ June 1, 2020 The coronavirus crisis is likely to accelerate the adoption of technology within financial services, according to accountancy firm EY. In an EY poll of more than 200 financial services firms, almost two thirds of respondents think the workplace will fundamentally change after the pandemic. A further 30 per cent expect moderate change. Simon Turner, a [...]
UK car industry flatlines as just 197 cars built in April May 29, 2020 The UK car industry made just 197 cars in April as the shuttering of factories due to the coronavirus pandemic sent production flatlining. Total production dropped 99.7 per cent, with the lowest number of cars built in one month since the Second World War, according to new data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and [...]