We must not get stuck in an EU thicket January 22, 2020 Boris Johnson’s victory in the General Election means Britain will now, finally, after three years of dithering and obstruction, be free to set out on its own path of trade-energised growth and prosperity. Rather surprisingly, the UK’s political classes and business seem shocked that the UK will not be aligning to European regulations. They overlook [...]
Exclusive: Downing Street plots for UK to ‘take up its flag’ at WTO months ahead of agreed time January 22, 2020 Downing Street wants the UK to “take up its flag” at the next WTO meeting months ahead of the time agreed with the EU, City A.M. has learned. Conversations are taking place at Number 10 over whether the UK should sit independently from the EU at the March WTO meeting, the first time it will [...]
JD Wetherspoon toasts Christmas sales but warns on debt January 22, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon reported this morning that sales were up over the Christmas period, but warned that full-year debt will be higher than expected due to a spike in capital expenditure. The pub operator said like-for-like sales in the 12 weeks to 19 January increased 4.7 per cent, and total sales were up 4.2 [...]
John Manzoni to step down as chief of the civil service January 22, 2020 The chief executive of the civil service, Sir John Manzoni, is stepping down from his role ahead of looming Whitehall reforms. A Cabinet Office spokesperson said: “As has been planned for some time, Sir John Manzoni will step down from his post at some point this year.” Sky News first reported that Manzoni told senior colleagues of [...]
Davos 2020 day two live: Europe is tougher than China, says Trump January 22, 2020 Please manually refresh this page for our latest Davos 2020 updates. The World Economic Forum at Davos is focusing on climate change this year. Today, Chancellor Sajid Javid will speak on a panel on the future of financial markets. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will address the world and Prince Charles will make [...]
UK factory optimism hits six-year high after election January 22, 2020 Optimism in the UK’s factory sector surged to an almost six-year high in the three months to January, survey data has shown, in a sign that the British economic sentiment picked up following the December General Election. The sector’s performance over the period was weak, however, with output once again falling as car factories slowed [...]
Jaguar Land Rover cuts 500 jobs at factory near Liverpool in ‘further blow’ for UK car industry January 22, 2020 Jaguar Land Rover has announced it is cutting 500 jobs from its Halewood factory, near Liverpool. The car maker said it is “taking action to optimise performance, enable sustainable growth and safeguard the long-term success of our business”. Jaguar Land Rover’s Halewood plant employs about 4,000 contracted workers, plus more than 1,000 agency staff. They [...]
Brexit certainty helps AJ Bell boost platform assets by 27 per cent January 22, 2020 The end of the Brexit deadlock helped AJ Bell post a 27 per cent leap in its platform assets under administration (AUA), but underlying inflows for its advised platform were flat year on year at £800m. Its investment platform saw a 27 per cent jump in AUA to £47.2bn, a rise AJ Bell credited to [...]
Our way, not the Huawei — for the sake of national security January 22, 2020 Boris Johnson might have been forgiven for thinking that the biggest dilemma he inherited from Theresa May would be how to resolve Brexit. But a second straggler from the May era has reared its head to disrupt the post-election serenity. How the Prime Minister chooses to deal with it may have long-term effects as important [...]
DEBATE: Is the Bank of England out of ammunition for the next recession? January 22, 2020 Is the Bank of England out of ammunition for the next recession? Jumana Saleheen, chief economist at commodities consultant CRU Group, says YES. Lessons from history: central banks need to cut interest rates by about five percentage points in a recession. So if rates were six per cent, they would need to drop to one [...]