For once, John Bercow’s egomaniac meddling actually has a point March 20, 2019 John Bercow is a pompous, smug, self-important showman. The only thing he likes more than the sound of his own voice is being in the limelight – and he isn’t afraid to ruffle feathers in his never-ending search for it. He has turned the centuries-old office of the speaker of the House of Commons into [...]
Emojis are a better metric for national wellbeing than traditional data methods March 20, 2019 HMRC’s programme to make tax digital continues to roll out. Anyone with a small business will know about the imminent deadline of 1 April, when VAT returns become digital. Quick to seize an opportunity, several companies have developed software to ease the task. The digitisation of tax raises the wider issue of whether technology will [...]
Home-buying or retirement: What are Lifetime Isa savers planning to use their money for? March 20, 2019 When then chancellor George Osborne announced that the government would launch the Lifetime Isa in 2017, the industry was stunned. Designed for people under 40 to either save for retirement or for a home, few people saw this hybrid product coming. Alongside concerns that the Isa could distract from the new workplace pension scheme, a lot of [...]
Findel urges shareholders to take no action following Sports Direct offer March 20, 2019 Home shopping firm Findel has urged shareholders to take no action following a £139m offer by Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct. The board rejected the bid and said Sport Direct’s offer of 161p for each Findel share “significantly undervalues” the company. Read more: Mike Ashley's Sports Direct makes official £139m offer for Findel In a statement [...]
Brexit: Theresa May will not seek long delay to Article 50 as she asks EU for short extension March 20, 2019 Theresa May will not seek a long Brexit extension when she writes to the EU to seek a delay to Article 50 today, according to reports. Read more: UK must commit to new political 'event' to get Brexit delay, warns Barnier The Prime Minister is set to ask for more time for parliament to back [...]
WPP board ‘finally came to their senses’ over £2m bonus, says Sir Martin Sorrell March 19, 2019 Advertising veteran Sir Martin Sorrell has said the board of WPP “finally came to their senses” over his £2m bonus, which it has paid out almost a year after his abrupt exit. Speaking at Advertising Week Europe this evening Sorrell, who left the ad group amid allegations of misconduct, denied any wrongdoing as he took [...]
Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct makes official £139m offer for Findel March 19, 2019 Sports Direct has made an official bid for home shopping firm Findel as it sent out an offer document to shareholders. The company, which is currently the firm’s largest shareholder, has offered to buy the rest of Findel’s stock for 161p per share. Read more: Debenhams pressure mounts amid Sports Direct comments Earlier this month [...]
UK needs to commit to new political ‘event’ to get Brexit delay, warns Michel Barnier March 19, 2019 A long delay to Brexit must be linked to a new political event or process, the EU’s chief negotiator has warned. Speaking in Brussels, Michel Barnier set out the reassurances he believes the EU 27 will want from the UK before granting an extension to the negotiating period. Theresa May is set to write to [...]
Brexit: With ten days to go, what is going to happen? March 19, 2019 | City Talk In a process where the phrase ‘dumpster fire’ is already probably more accurate than anything normally used to describe political process, speaker John Bercow threw a grenade into the mix by refusing to allow a third meaningful vote on Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement. It was a move that surprised many – when we thought the [...]
Angela Merkel: I will fight for Brexit deal until the last minute of 29 March March 19, 2019 Angela Merkel has vowed to fight until the “last minute” of 29 March to secure a Brexit deal as the UK prepares to ask for its departure from the EU to be delayed. The German Chancellor said she was waiting to see the details of Theresa May’s proposals for an extension to the negotiating period, [...]