Liam Fox is hiring almost 100 civil servants for his trade department November 21, 2016 Liam Fox is hunting for almost 100 new civil servants in a bid to secure the future of the UK outside of the European Union. Fox's Department for International Trade was created to boost ties between the UK and the rest of the world after Brexit, and has posted dozens of jobs within the [...]
Asian investors have poured over £1.5bn into London property since the Brexit vote November 21, 2016 Asian investors have been pouring their money into London commercial property following the Brexit vote. Figures from Cushman & Wakefield seen by City A.M. show that Asian buyers have spent over £1.5bn in the capital since June 2016, snapping up properties in the City and the West End. Read more: Apple's move to Battersea Power Station boosts [...]
We asked economists what they want from Philip Hammond’s first Autumn Statement November 21, 2016 During the rapid post-Brexit shuffle at the top of UK politics many a word was spoken in haste, and perhaps none more so than confident predictions that Philip Hammond would put paid to George Osborne’s austerity politics with a bold return to Keynesian government investment. That might have been a bit rash, but it demonstrates [...]
One more time? Angela Merkel confirms she seek a fourth term November 20, 2016 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has today confirmed she intends to run for a fourth term. Merkel announced she planned to stand as the leader of the Christian Democratic Union, and therefore Chancellor, again. "I thought about this for an endlessly long time. The decision [to run] for a fourth term is – after 11 years in office – anything [...]
UK government borrowing could overshoot forecasts by £7.5bn this year owing to Brexit and reduced tax revenues November 20, 2016 UK government borrowing could overshoot forecasts by as much as £7.5bn this year, as reduced tax revenues and the vote to quit the European Union threaten to leave chancellor Philip Hammond with less room for manoeuvre in his first Autumn Statement on Wednesday. The Office for Budget Responsibility could be in line to slash its [...]
An Inspector Calls at the Playhouse theatre: good, cosy fun, but lacking spleen November 17, 2016 An Inspector Calls returns once again to the London stage. A whodunnit in which a police officer investigates the causes of a young woman’s suicide should be an excoriating critique of the indifference of the upper-middle classes, but here it is repackaged as cosy entertainment for the descendants of the very people it originally sought [...]
Senior government officials are considering quitting because there’s no ‘clear’ Brexit plan November 17, 2016 London — The British government's lack of a clear Brexit plan is prompting senior officials to think about quitting, according to the former head of the Foreign Office in Britain, Sir Simon Fraser. Sir Simon said during a House of Commons Committee hearing that "civil servants don’t feel they have clear political direction at the moment," [...]
Cafe culture nudges Eurozone inflation higher in October November 17, 2016 Eurozone annual inflation rose to 0.5 per cent in October, driven by contributions from spending in restaurants and cafes. Up by 0.1 per cent compared with September, six of the member states recorded annual rates below zero – better known as deflation. Inflation rose in 21 EU states, which was enough to raise inflation across the region [...]
An ex-White House adviser and two banking bosses have been recruited to join Liam Fox’s trade ministry November 17, 2016 A former adviser to George W. Bush and two senior bankers have been recruited to advise Liam Fox's trade ministry, following former IoD director general Simon Walker. Walker's appointment emerged last month, but now City A.M. can reveal three further non-exec hires at the government department. Former Bush adviser and economist Pippa Malmgren leads the [...]
The government must get serious about simplifying Britain’s complex tax laws November 16, 2016 With British business awash with Brexit uncertainty, it has never been more important for the government to simplify our complicated tax system. The UK tax code is now more than 20,000 pages long. It’s made up of over 1,000 tax reliefs and exemptions. At around 10m words, it is 12 times the length of the [...]