Trump claims China stalled on trade deal in hopes of dealing with Democratic president May 8, 2019 US President Donald Trump has claimed that China was seeking to U-turn on the trade deal struck between the two countries in the hope that it could renegotiate with a Democratic president following the 2020 election. Read more: Global markets in tailspin after Trump threatens huge China tariff rise He also said that China's vice-premier [...]
Chinese exports unexpectedly fall as pressure builds to reach trade deal with US May 8, 2019 China’s gigantic trade surplus unexpectedly narrowed in April, as the country’s exports fell 2.7 per cent year-on-year in a sign that pressure from the US was hurting the Chinese economy. Read more: Global markets in tailspin after Trump threatens huge China tariff rise Imports fared better, however, rising four per cent in April after a [...]
UK house prices: Experts warn of ‘volatile’ UK housing market after sharp April growth May 8, 2019 Experts today warned that volatility is affecting the UK housing market as Halifax recorded a sharp annual jump in house prices in April. Read more: UK house prices suffer fifth month of Brexit-hit growth UK homes are now worth an average £236,619 following the stark five per cent rise for the three months to April, [...]
Out for justice: Britain must fight for its status as a global legal hub May 8, 2019 The UK legal sector is in rude health. There are almost 10,000 private practice firms across the country, and over 200 foreign law firms with offices in London. Together, they support a total of 342,000 jobs and make a sizeable contribution to the UK’s trade surplus of around £4.4bn. But as we kick off London [...]
Stamp duty is making the housing crisis even worse May 8, 2019 There is no silver bullet to fixing the nation’s housing crisis, short of the obvious but politically challenging solution of building a lot more houses. Nonetheless, certain taxes and regulations make an already flawed market even more distorted and act as additional barriers to those seeking to buy and sell homes. And in the case [...]
HP ‘not suing Autonomy US exec to go after Mike Lynch’ in fraud trial May 7, 2019 Hewlett Packard (HP) is not suing Autonomy’s former US chief executive in order to use his evidence against British businessman Mike Lynch in the biggest fraud trial in UK history, a court heard today. HP is suing Lynch, the former chief executive of software firm Autonomy, and ex-finance chief Sushovan Hussain for $5.1bn, alleging that [...]
Insurer Hiscox grows premiums as London market rates improve May 7, 2019 Insurer Hiscox grew gross written premiums in the first three months of the year as rates improved in the London market. The Lloyd's of London insurer said gross written premiums grew 3.3. per cent in constant currency to $1.164bn (£890m) in the first quarter. Read more: German insurer Allianz close to deal for L&G's general insurance [...]
Virgin Media grows customer base amid superfast broadband rollout May 7, 2019 Virgin Media has posted a solid set of results for the first quarter as it focuses its efforts on a £3bn plan to rollout superfast broadband across the UK. Read more: Vodafone calls on German government to speed up fibre optic rollout The figures First-quarter revenue remained flat on the previous year at £1.3bn. Operating [...]
Marks and Spencer will shut seven stores for the final time as part of a wider restructuring May 4, 2019 Marks and Spencer will shut down seven more stores today as part of its long-term plan to close 100 by 2022. It will bring the total number of stores closed to 47 as the high street retailer adapts to consumer's changing habits. The department store chain is ending its association with town centres across the UK and [...]
Shares fall at shopping centre owner Intu as it warns on rental profit May 3, 2019 Shopping centre developer Intu's share price fell 6.7 per cent this morning as it warned 2019 losses may be worse than expected this morning as the troubled property firm battles with a challenging retail environment. Read more: Intu sells major stake in Derby shopping centre to cut debt The company, which welcomed former finance boss [...]