Major US law firm launches first office in ‘exciting and remarkable’ London September 18, 2019 US law firm Alston & Bird launched an office in London today in a bid to build a transatlantic finance and payments powerhouse. Finance partner Andrew Petersen said Alston & Bird’s management: “Firmly believe that London, with everything going on, is the place to be and I think that’s incredibly exciting for London.” The Atlanta-headquartered [...]
World will have twice as many planes in the skies in 20 years, says Airbus September 18, 2019 The world will have twice as many passenger jets in 2038 as are currently in the skies, Airbus forecast today, as the plane maker raised concerns over a potentially damaging tariff war between the EU and the US. The European plane maker has hiked its forecasts for jet plane demand to 47,680 aircraft by 2038, [...]
Politicians and campaigners call for scrapping of live facial recognition surveillance September 18, 2019 Privacy campaigners and MPs from several parties have called for police and private companies to “immediately stop” using live facial recognition surveillance in public spaces. In an open letter published by campaigning group Big Brother Watch, signatories including shadow home secretary Diane Abbott cite “serious concerns” about the technology’s “incompatibility with human rights” and “lack [...]
Jim Ratcliffe’s Ineos names £600m Bridgend-built 4×4 after west London pub September 18, 2019 Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed the name of his upcoming 4×4 car will be the Grenadier, after the west London pub it was dreamt up in, and hopes to create 500 jobs in south Wales where it will be manufactured. Ratcliffe’s chemicals firm Ineos will build the car on a new site in Bridgend, where [...]
MPs urge clarity from Sajid Javid over appointment timetable for Bank of England governor September 18, 2019 An influential group of MPs has demanded a timetable from the chancellor for the appointment of the next Bank of England governor. Following reports that the successor to Mark Carney is not likely to be decided by the current autumn deadline, the Treasury committee has today written to Sajid Javid asking him to confirm whether [...]
Why the Bank of England will buck the trend and hold interest rates September 18, 2019 The US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) both slashed interest rates at their last meetings, citing trade wars and stubborn inflation respectively. With the UK economy in contraction – it shrank 0.2 per cent in the second quarter – and inflation falling in August, there is a case for the Bank of England [...]
Chief executive kidnapped and beaten in Northern Ireland September 18, 2019 The chief executive of a Northern Irish construction supplies group at the centre of an inquiry by the Irish Central Bank was kidnapped from his home last night and later dumped, badly beaten, on the side of the road. Kevin Lunney, who leads Quinn Industrial Holdings, is in hospital with a broken leg and other [...]
Sterling falls on lower inflation and Brexit concerns September 18, 2019 Sterling has fallen against the dollar this morning after UK inflation undershot expectations and traders’ nerves grew over Brexit. Read more: Falling computer game prices drag UK inflation to lowest rate in three years The pound was 0.4 per cent lower against the dollar by 10.45am UK time to buy $1.245. Yet the fall was [...]
UK house prices: Growth rate halves as south east faces ‘reality check’ September 18, 2019 The annual rate of growth of UK house prices has slowed to its worst rate since September 2012, according to public data released today, as prices in the south east plummeted. Average UK house prices grew just 0.7 per cent in the year to July, amounting to just half of June’s 1.4 per cent rise, [...]
Falling computer game prices drag UK inflation to lowest rate in three years September 18, 2019 UK inflation slipped to its lowest point in three years in August, official figures have shown, dragged down by falling computer game prices. Read more: Fall in UK unemployment pushes earnings growth to 11-year high Prices in British shops rose by an annualised rate of 1.7 per cent in August, the Office for National Statistics [...]