FTSE 100 spikes as Trump whistleblower complaint sinks Asian and US stocks September 27, 2019 The FTSE 100 opened up again today after surging to an eight-week high yesterday, but later giving back some gains. Read more: FTSE 100 rises as US-China trade talks boost European stocks London’s main market climbed 0.96 per cent to 7,421.65 points as it opened, after the fallout from President Donald Trump’s whistleblower complaint hit [...]
EU’s Juncker says Britain to blame if stalemate ends in no-deal Brexit September 27, 2019 European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has said the blame will lie with Britain if it leaves the EU in a no-deal Brexit. Juncker said he and chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier were doing their utmost to secure a Brexit deal, but the bloc would not accept any blame if efforts end in failure. Read more: [...]
Focus on Wapping: First-time home buyers are taking advantage of City connections and ‘sensible’ prices September 27, 2019 Located on the north bank of the Thames just to the east of Tower Bridge, Wapping is one of the few remaining postcodes where you can snap up a flat within walking distance of the City without a completely eye-watering price tag. Formerly the domain of dock workers, large swathes of the area have been [...]
Blame the Fixed-term Parliaments Act for this utter chaos in Westminster September 27, 2019 The BBC podcast series The Political Butterfly Effect explores the theory that even the tiniest of events can have vast and unintended consequences. If you’re curious how a bar fight may have caused Brexit, or what the meat extract product Bovril has to do with keeping Britain out of the euro, it’s worth a listen. [...]
If Jeremy Corbyn really cares about ‘the many’, he should rethink his aversion to markets September 27, 2019 A common complaint over the past three years is that no one can talk about anything other than Brexit. But that wasn’t true at the Labour party conference this week. Unlike the Liberal Democrats, who barely gave way to any policy discussion beyond revoking Article 50, both the Labour leader and shadow chancellor confronted all [...]
London retains green finance crown September 27, 2019 London has retained the top spot in a major ranking of the world’s best hubs for green finance. According to a respected global index out today, the capital has kept its eco-crown despite several European neighbours being hot on its heels. Read more: Debenhams finance chief exits Western Europe’s financial sector continues to dominate the [...]
IFS: Johnson’s tax cut pledges will cost billions September 27, 2019 A bonanza of tax cuts promised by Boris Johnson will cost billions of pounds, an influential research group has warned. The Prime Minister’s pledge to raise the threshold of National Insurance contributions (NIC) and higher-rate income tax has come under damning criticism from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), which said this morning that the [...]
Small businesses need ‘meaningful financial assistance’ to prepare for no-deal Brexit, FSB warns September 27, 2019 The government should provide “meaningful financial assistance” to small firms to prepare for a no-deal Brexit, the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has said. The FSB surveyed over 1,062 small firms to assess how prepared they are for the UK leaving the EU without a deal on 31 October, finding that 39 per cent of [...]
Consumer confidence edges up in September September 27, 2019 Consumer confidence grew slightly this month but remained negative overall as uncertainty continued in the run up to the 31 October Brexit deadline date. Despite the two point increase, consumer confidence was still minus 12 points in September compared to a score of minus nine in the same month last year. Read more: UK consumer [...]
Exclusive: Government plan to invoke EU law’s supremacy to ensure Brexit on Halloween September 26, 2019 The government believe it is possible to circumvent parliamentary legislation requiring them to delay Britain’s departure from the EU by invoking European law, City A.M. understands. Under the hastily-passed Benn Act, the Prime Minister must write to the EU seeking an extension to Article 50 if no Brexit deal secures parliamentary approval by 19 October. [...]