Government sticks to Halloween Brexit date as IDS slams ‘conniving’ Remainers August 5, 2019 A Halloween Brexit will take place “whatever the circumstances”, Downing Street has insisted, as rebel MPs up the rhetoric about blocking the process through a vote of no confidence. “The UK will be leaving the EU on 31 October, whatever the circumstances. There are no ifs or buts,” the Prime Minister’s official spokesman told journalists [...]
UK private equity investment sinks to five-year low August 5, 2019 Private equity investment in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in over five years, as continued economic and geopolitical uncertainty leaves vendors too nervous to put assets up for sale. A study of UK transactions involving private equity investors during the first half of the year showed that both deal volumes and deal [...]
Investor confidence in Eurozone hits five-year low August 5, 2019 Eurozone investors were at their gloomiest since October 2014 in August, according to a survey from finance data firm Sentix, which called a German recession “inevitable”. Read more: Eurozone economy slows as German weakness continues Sentix’s economic index of investor confidence fell by 7.9 points to minus 13.7 in August, significantly below the minus 7.7 [...]
Donald Trump accuses Beijing of currency manipulation August 5, 2019 US President Donald Trump has accused China of currency manipulation and said the Federal Reserve should act to lower the value of the dollar. Read more: Markets in turmoil as Chinese currency falls to financial crisis levels Trump tweeted: “China dropped the price of their currency to an almost a historic low. It’s called “currency [...]
Ofcom clears Channel 4 News over Jon Snow’s ‘white people’ comment August 5, 2019 Ofcom has cleared Channel 4 News of wrongdoing after presenter Jon Snow remarked he had “never seen so many white people in one place” during a Brexit rally. The regulator received 2,600 complaints that Snow’s comment, made at the end of the programme, was racist and offensive. Read more: BBC gets Ofcom approval to stream [...]
Goodbye, John Flint: Why has HSBC axed its CEO? August 5, 2019 HSBC’s results this morning were overshadowed by the bank’s decision to sack CEO John Flint after just 18 months at the helm. Just a few hours later, HSBC confirmed it is looking to cut 5,000 jobs at the bank as it chases savings. Read more: HSBC to cut nearly 5,000 in huge savings drive Flint [...]
FTSE 100 tumbles as trade war heats up and Brexit approaches August 5, 2019 Britain’s FTSE 100 stock index has tumbled 1.9 per cent as an escalation of trade tensions and the growing likelihood of a no-deal Brexit cause investors to sell UK shares and buy safer assets. Read more: Markets in turmoil as Chinese currency falls to financial crisis levels The sell-off of British equities sent investors towards [...]
Why has the weaker pound failed to turbocharge the economy? August 5, 2019 The sharp fall in the pound in the wake of the 2016 Brexit referendum would help “rebalance the UK economy”, in the words of Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England. But since then, the UK has struggled to improve its trade position and has certainly not seen any boost to GDP growth. [...]
Car sales stagnate again in July but electric vehicle market share surges August 5, 2019 New car sales were hampered last month by confusion over Brexit uncertainty and the government’s future policies over plug-in hybrid electric cars. The British new car market shrunk 4.1 per cent in July, its fifth straight month of decline, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Read more: Car industry investment grinds [...]
UK service sector posts modest growth but economy ‘skirts recession’ August 5, 2019 Activity in the UK service sector edged up to a nine-month high in July, a closely-watched survey has shown, but stayed well below the post-financial crisis average. Read more: UK manufacturing sector ‘suffocating’ amid Brexit and a global slowdown Growth in the service sector, which makes up over 70 per cent of the UK economy, [...]