WTO deputy director says crisis could lead to greater trade liberalisation June 5, 2020 One of the heads of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has said the coronavirus crisis could lead to greater unilateral trade liberalisation. WTO deputy director general Alan Wolff said he was hopeful the crisis could spur countries on to drop trade tariffs as has happened after several economic crashes over the past century. The coronavirus [...]
Sizewell C: Nuclear plant under scrutiny over Chinese role June 3, 2020 A quiet corner of the Suffolk coastline is set to become a new frontier in the debate over the UK’s changing relationship with Chinese foreign direct investment. Last week EDF submitted a planning application for Sizewell C, a new 3.2 gigawatt nuclear plant which could provide enough power for 6m homes. The project has been [...]
FTSE 100: Travel stocks surge as Europe reopens borders June 3, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped in morning trading with airlines surging as Europe reopened some of its borders after coronavirus lockdowns. London’s index of the 100 biggest UK companies rose 1.5 per cent to 6,310 points, putting it close to a three-month high. The rise was powered by countries across Europe reopening or planning to reopen [...]
US senator: China using Huawei to ‘drive wedge’ in UK-US relationship June 3, 2020 China is using telecoms giant Huawei to “drive a hi-tech wedge” into the special relationship between the UK and the US, a top US senator told MPs yesterday. Republican Tom Cotton is a vocal critic of Huawei and is part of a group of US senators who have urged Britain to reverse its decision to [...]
UK coronavirus death toll rises by 324 to 39,369 June 2, 2020 A further 324 people have died with coronavirus in the UK, bringing the death toll to 39,369, according to figures released today by the Department of Health. As of 9am this morning, 135,643 tests were carried out or dispatched with 1,613 positive results. However, the number of people tested was unavailable again, according to the [...]
BAME people up to twice as likely to die from coronavirus, says PHE report June 2, 2020 UK residents with a black and Asian ethnic minority (BAME) background are up to twice as likely to die from coronavirus, according to a new Public Health England (PHE) report. The report found that Britons with a Bangladeshi ethnicity were twice as likely to die than White Britons from Covid-19, while “people of Chinese, Indian, [...]
UK tells China to ‘step back from the brink’ on new Hong Kong security legislation June 2, 2020 Foreign secretary Dominic Raab has told China to “step back from the brink” and to not enforce the planned security legislation in Hong Kong. Raab told MPs today that the new legislation “lies in direct conflict with China’s international obligations” and was a breach of Hong Kong’s autonomy. The UK announced last week it would [...]
UK launches review into impact of US sanctions on Huawei June 1, 2020 The government has launched a review into US sanctions on Huawei as speculation mounts that Boris Johnson will reverse his decision on allowing the Chinese firm to help build Britain’s 5G network. The review, which has already begun, will report back to the government in a matter of weeks and will look at export controls [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 gains fade on US-China tensions as Wall Street wobbles June 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 pared some of its gains amid simmering tensions between the US and China over Beijing’s crackdown on semi-autonomous Hong Kong. Despite the concerns, US President Donald Trump stopped short of ripping up the US-China trade deal over China’s actions in the city-state. However, stocks surrendered some of their earlier gains as reports [...]
Jim O’Neill: Project Birch must come with conditions attached May 31, 2020 Former Treasury minister and architect of the Northern Powerhouse project Jim O’Neill has said the government’s Project Birch bailout plan must come with conditions attached for the businesses involved. Speaking to the Telegraph, O’Neill also called for “great conditionality” to be attached to the scheme, which is expected to provide support for strategically key firms [...]