Business leaders call on government to lay out trade talks position January 21, 2020 UK business leaders have called on the government to lay out its objectives for trade talks with the European Union, saying they can only make investment decisions once they have a clear sense of Number 10’s position. The intervention by the Institute of Directors (IoD), which represents British company bosses, came after chancellor Sajid Javid [...]
Frictionless trade ‘just not possible’ says former minister Liam Fox January 20, 2020 Any automatic alignment to EU regulations as they change over time would be “completely incompatible with the concept of Brexit,” former trade minister Liam Fox will tell Swiss business leaders tomorrow. With just 10 days before the UK leaves the EU, Fox will stress that frictionless trade between the two sides is “simply not possible” [...]
Boris Johnson suffers first defeat since election as Lords amend Brexit bill January 20, 2020 The Prime Minister has suffered his first parliamentary defeat since winning an 80-seat majority last month, as the Lords voted to amend his key Brexit bill. Peers backed the Oates amendment, ensuring EU nationals living in the UK have a physical document showing they have a right to live in the country, by 270 votes [...]
PM pledges to put ‘people before passports’ in new immigration regime January 20, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson has pledged to put “people before passports” after Brexit, as part of the UK’s new immigration system. Speaking this morning as he opened the UK-Africa Investment Summit, Johnson promised that “change is coming” as a result of the UK leaving the EU. “If you want to come here to study in those [...]
IMF downgrades global growth forecasts despite US-China and Brexit deals January 20, 2020 The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has downgraded its global growth forecasts and said there are “no clear signs of a turning point” for the world economy despite the signing of a US-China trade deal and more clarity over Brexit. In the latest of a series of downgrades, the IMF said it expects global growth for [...]
Wetherspoon to slash prices of drinks on Brexit Day January 20, 2020 Pub chain JD Wetherspoon is planning to celebrate Brexit by slashing the prices of a selection of drinks on 31 January as the UK leaves the EU. The offer will reduce prices of drinks from across Europe, including Estrella Galicia, Beck’s and Peroni, by around 60p. The promotion – which will run until 29 February [...]
Over 1000 EU financial firms planning to open UK offices after Brexit January 20, 2020 More than 1000 banks, asset managers, payments firms and insurers from the European Union are planning to open offices in post-Brexit Britain so they can continue to serve UK clients. The new offices would help financial firms counter the loss of business as unrestricted two-way access between the UK and EU comes to an end [...]
The cost of an international office January 20, 2020 From expanding sales to mitigating Brexit risk, many companies are securing presence overseas. Some companies have already set up an office in the EU to avoid trade barriers in the future, others are considering a move or a satellite office in the EU or further afield to take advantage of new opportunities in emerging geographic [...]
What happened to the pound, euro and US dollar in 2019? January 20, 2020 It has been a year of ups and downs for sterling, largely dominated by political and geopolitical factors. Investors’ concern over the outcome of Brexit largely overshadowed other factors. Despite celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2019, it wasn’t a banner year for the euro. Over the last 20 years, the euro has strengthened by 27 [...]
What does 2020 hold in store for the pound? January 20, 2020 Brexit cast a long shadow over the pound in 2019. Additional factors that influenced the value of sterling – caution from the Bank of England, faltering economic results – were all seen through the lens of Brexit. Now that parliament has backed the Brexit bill, the focus may move slightly from the challenges of uncertainty [...]