City Hall and BBC under fire over stamp duty agreement for new Olympic Park studios January 29, 2019 City Hall has come under fire for agreeing to underwrite half of the stamp duty that could be levied on the BBC when it opens new studios in the £1.1bn Olympic Park development. Last summer the broadcaster announced it would build a brand new set of studios at the east London site by 2022/23, in concert [...]
Ireland would take four per cent economic hit in no-deal Brexit, says Irish finance minister January 29, 2019 Ireland’s economy will take a four per cent hit in a no-deal Brexit, the country’s finance minister has warned. Pascal Donohoe today told his government colleagues a “disorderly” Brexit would particularly impact on agri-food and manufacturing sectors in Ireland – leading to slower economic growth over the next five years. The Irish government were told [...]
London startup backed by the Mayor and National Grid launches embedded car charging points January 29, 2019 Connected Kerb has today launched its first series of electric car charging points fully embedded into the road's curbside. Built into Borough Road in Southwark, the launch was supported by Southwark Council, Virgin Media and National Grid. The move comes after the London startup won the Mayor's Award for Urban Innovation last year. Users of electric cars [...]
Construction in crisis: Where did it all go wrong for Kier? January 29, 2019 Construction outsourcer Kier Group has had a tricky few months. First, it became the most shorted stock on the market, with hedge funds drawing direct comparison to failed competitor Carillion. Since then, it has bungled a rights issue, lost its chief executive and seen its share price plummet more than 39 per cent. Morning Wire tracks [...]
Apple sales come to the fore as big tech firms brace for crunch results January 29, 2019 Silicon Valley will be preparing for market instability this week as several members of the so-called Faang grouping gear up to report quarterly results for the recent festive period. Three members of the big tech club – which includes Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google – will publish figures amid rising speculation that their time [...]
Downing Street slaps down Sajid Javid over net migration target January 29, 2019 Downing Street has insisted reducing net migration to below 100,000 is still government policy – despite the home secretary saying there are no more targets. In the Commons on Monday, Sajid Javid was asked if the government was “formally dumping” its longstanding aim of getting net migration into the tens of thousands. The home secretary [...]
We’re all bored of Brexit, just as things start to get interesting January 29, 2019 This week will be crucial for Brexit as Theresa May sets out how she intends to take the departure process forward after her initial withdrawal agreement was defeated. But as Westminster gets to grips with the Brexit process, and the media pores over the ramifications of parliamentary votes on proposed amendments to the deal, most [...]
With just a dash of flexibility, the Brexit endgame is in sight January 29, 2019 In 1982, three years into Margaret Thatcher’s first term, a monograph was published about the government’s economic progress bluntly titled: “Could do better”. Was it published by the Fabian Society, with its close affiliation to the Labour party? Or perhaps it was released by the recently established Social Democratic Party, formed by people on the [...]
The Eurozone is at risk of renewed crisis in 2019 – and this time it’s all about Italy January 29, 2019 After a dismal 2018, December brought further bad news for the Eurozone in the form of the European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator. Despite hopes that last year would see an escape from the ongoing repercussions of the 2011-2013 euro crisis, confidence across sectors has taken a hit, with only retail trade remaining a bright spot. [...]
If Britain looks outward, it will find Nigeria open for business January 29, 2019 As the vote on Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement looms, parliament is at an impasse. The likelihood of a no-deal Brexit is increasing – in Germany, it is now seen as the most probable outcome, while in France, a “hard Brexit” contingency plan has been triggered. Deal or no deal, however, Brexit gives the UK the [...]