Theresa May is ready for Brexit negotiations to ‘accelerate and intensify’ but Michel Barnier says big divergences remain June 29, 2018 Theresa May has told European Union leaders the UK is ready for Brexit talks to pick up, with the publication of a much-anticipated Brexit white paper to be published shortly. But EU chief negotiatior Michel Barnier said today that while progress had been made – big differences remained. He added that he hoped a British [...]
Jeremy Hunt says Airbus warnings over Brexit are ‘completely inappropriate’ June 24, 2018 Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said “threats” made by Airbus over pulling investment in the UK because of Brexit are “completely inappropriate”. Last week, Airbus warned it could leave the UK in the event of a hard Brexit, putting around 14,000 jobs at risk. The pan-European firm said it would consider moving out of the [...]
Editor’s Notes: Without the UK, the EU can resume its march to ever closer union, Nex’s Michael Spencer backs British bubbly and Lady Wilson remembered June 15, 2018 Earlier this week I chaired a discussion at TheCityUK’s annual conference, where several people, including the lobby group’s chairman, John McFarlane, stressed the point that “there’s life beyond Brexit”. It can’t be said often enough, given how much of our national attention and energy has been sucked into the black hole of Brexit: the uncertainty, [...]
Network Rail wants to ban plastic cutlery and cups from major stations by 2020 June 6, 2018 Network Rail is to ban retailers at some of its stations from supplying plastic cutlery and cups in a push to become more environmentally friendly. By the end of 2020, retailers at some of the biggest and busiest rail stations will also have to implement a coffee cup recycling scheme and expand the roll out [...]
The internet trolls ruined social media, but here’s how brands and charities can reclaim it May 29, 2018 Advertising used to be simple. Brands placed ads in print and on billboards, or maybe they’d buy airtime to run television commercials. The internet made everything more complicated. Brands had to create new types of advertising, and the popularity of social media meant many firms felt the need to be involved and create profiles in [...]
Last Week in the City: England has an 8.5% chance of winning the World Cup May 18, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (14 to 18 May 2018). UBS has used its City analysts’ predictive firepower to try and work out the winner of the upcoming World Cup in Russia – and England came surprisingly high in its league [...]
UK top pubs, restaurants and cafes ranked: Costa, Greggs and Wetherspoon top consumer opinion poll of high street brands with the best reputation April 20, 2018 Public perception is rising for a clutch of major high street food and drink brands, a new report has revealed. Costa, Greggs and JD Wetherspoon have gained the most momentum when it comes to consumer attitudes, data research company CGA said. The report ranks operators by how fast they are building their brand awareness, positive [...]
DEBATE: Could quitting social media like Wetherspoons did be a good idea for brands? April 18, 2018 Could quitting social media like Wetherspoons did be a good idea for brands? Beatrice Timpson, director at Media Intelligence Partners, says YES. A social media profile is only as good as its content. If, like Wetherspoons, you have 900 Facebook and Twitter accounts, each attracting very moderate engagement from followers, and no overarching sense of [...]
FTSE firms including Persimmon, BP and JD Wetherspoon warned of investor revolts over gender diversity April 17, 2018 A number of FTSE 350 companies could face investor revolts over low female representation within leadership roles, the investment managers’ trade body said today. It warned that investors were “becoming restless” over the lack of progress being made. The Investment Association, which represents investment managers collectively owning one third of the FTSE, and the government-backed [...]
Wetherspoon boss Tim Martin: We’ll shut down our social media after privacy, addiction and trolling concerns April 16, 2018 JD Wetherspoon founder Tim Martin today slammed social media sites as he vowed to shut down the pub chain’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook pages. In the wake of the Facebook privacy scandal as well as the use of social media to troll figures including MPs, Martin said this morning that all accounts would be shut [...]