ECB ‘working on lending scheme’ for small businesses hit by coronavirus March 3, 2020 The European Central Bank is reportedly working on measures to provide liquidity to businesses hit by the economic impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Measures being considered by the ECB include a targeted longer-term refinancing operation directed at small and medium-sized firms, which could be hardest hit by a virus-related downturn, sources familiar with the discussion [...]
It may be a while before the fog lifts on Italy March 3, 2020 The Italian economy was already looking rather parlous at the start of this year, with global bodies like the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and European Commission all predicting almost negligible growth rates. Even the January forecast from Italy’s official statistics agency suggested that GDP would increase by just 0.2 per cent over the course [...]
Jack Welch: A business giant by any definition March 3, 2020 There are corporate titans — and then there is Jack Welch, who led General Electric through an extraordinary expansion as its totemic chief executive in the go-go days of the 1980s and ‘90s. Fortune magazine named him Manager of the Century and considering that the market capitalisation of the firm went from $13bn (£10.2bn) to [...]
Electric chauffeur service Havn launches in London March 3, 2020 An all-electric premium chauffeur service that gives passengers the options to adjust playlists, temperature and chauffeur interaction launches in London today. Havn launches with a fleet of all-electric Jaguar I-PACEs which can be booked via an app or an online portal. The service is backed by Jaguar Land Rover’s investment vehicle Inmotion. Unlike similar ride-hailing [...]
Exclusive: Mystery of HS2 letter deepens as Chinese ambassador calls document ‘fake’ March 3, 2020 The provenance of a letter claiming to be from China’s state-run railway offering to build HS2 has been plunged into mystery after the Chinese ambassador to the UK said that no such letter had ever been written. Speaking at Chatham House, ambassador Liu Xiaoming said “the Chinese railway authority did not write a letter to [...]
Downing Street to seek parallel financial services talks with US March 2, 2020 Downing Street is looking at whether a financial services deal can be done in tandem with a broader free trade agreement with the US. The UK will begin talks with counterparts in Washington in the middle of this month, and today published an 184-page document setting out its mandate, which will prioritise industries such as [...]
Deal-makers bullish on M&A prospects for the year March 2, 2020 Deal-makers are more bullish about prospects for M&A and capital raising this year than they were at the start of 2019. According to figures from Refinitiv, 47 per cent of deal-makers anticipate M&A volume growth, with an average predicted growth of 4.7 per cent. Asian dealers are more bullish than their American and EMEA counterparts, [...]
Jack ‘Neutron’ Welch, chief executive of General Electric, dies age 84 March 2, 2020 Jack Welch, the architect of General Electric’s (GE) rise to becoming at one time the most valuable company in the US, has died aged 84, the firm has announced. Over the course of his two decades as chief executive of the industrial giant, Welch grew the firm’s market value from $12bn to $410bn, expanding General [...]
TfL rolls out 20mph speed limit for central London March 2, 2020 A speed limit of 20mph has come into place today on all central London roads managed by Transport for London (TfL). The rollout of the new limit will apply to 8.9km of roads within the congestion charge zone, including some in the City of London. Some of the main roads affected inlcude Albert Embankent, Millbank [...]
UK-US trade deal set to devalue UK’s financial services sector March 2, 2020 The government has admitted a free trade deal with the US is likely to lead to a drop in the value of the UK’s financial services sector, as other parts of the UK economy begin to expand. Number 10 this morning published its negotiating mandate for talks with Washington. Those discussions, expected to be spearheaded [...]