Passing May’s Brexit deal would make sterling surge, says JP Morgan January 9, 2019 The sterling would surge by at least four per cent if parliament approves Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit proposals in a planned vote next week, JP Morgan said. The bank’s asset management wing also warned about the potential impact of extending Article 50, something the government has ruled out. Karen Ward, the fund manager’s EMEA [...]
Will this be a year for investors to fear? January 9, 2019 A new year always offers the chance of a reset, of evolved thoughts, ideas and insights. Even though many will be pleased to see the back of 2018, numerous investors are beginning this year with new concerns: an oncoming recession. This fear seems suddenly rampant among many of my colleagues in the industry. But these fears [...]
John Bercow blasted by Tory Brexiters as Theresa May suffers another defeat January 9, 2019 Theresa May suffered yet another defeat over Brexit on Wednesday after a furious row erupted between Tory MPs and Commons Speaker John Bercow. Bercow was accused of not being impartial after accepting an amendment which would force the government to publish its Brexit ‘plan B’ within three days of a defeat on its deal, not [...]
Star trader Neil Woodford’s fund reports healthy profits despite recent drop in assets January 9, 2019 Veteran investor Neil Woodford’s fund Woodford Investments has reported operating profit of £41.7m and paid directors £36.5m in dividends in the 12 months to the end of March last year. However, the accounts do not take into account recent outflows from the fund, and profits are likely to be impacted in the next set of full-year [...]
Rod Rosenstein, key figure in Trump probe, set to leave US justice department: reports January 9, 2019 US deputy attorney-general Rod Rosenstein, a key figure in the probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 US presidential election, is set to leave the Department of Justice in the coming weeks, according to multiple reports. Rosenstein is likely to leave after the appointment of William Barr, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Jeff Sessions [...]
Sir Terry Morgan hits back at Sadiq Khan over Crossrail delay: ‘I do not suffer from loss of memory’ January 9, 2019 Former Crossrail chairman Sir Terry Morgan has hit back at accusations from Sadiq Khan that he had "misremembered" the events leading up to the announcement of the project's delay, telling the London Assembly: "I do not suffer from memory loss." Morgan appeared before the London Assembly's transport committee this morning to answer to the evidence [...]
DUP slams government’s wooing attempts in advance of Brexit deal vote January 9, 2019 A spokesman for the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has slammed government proposals intended to get the support of the Northern Irish party for the Brexit deal as “fairly meaningless”. Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington, a key ally of Prime Minister Theresa May, had announced a series of pledges to try and sell the [...]
Poll: Three-quarters of MPs think Theresa May made a bad job of Brexit negotiations January 9, 2019 Nearly three-quarters of MPs feel that Theresa May has done a bad job of handling Brexit negotiations, according to a new poll. The annual poll of MPs – conducted by Ipsos Mori on behalf of The UK in a Changing Europe think tank and the Mile End Institute at the Queen Mary University of London [...]
Government analysis ‘sheds no more light’ on Brexit, says Treasury committee January 9, 2019 Treasury Select Committee chair Nicky Morgan has castigated the government over its Brexit outcome analyses, claiming it has shown the “most optimistic” model without addressing other factors including the short-term impact of leaving the EU. Morgan, who was among the rebel Tories that pushed the government into a historic defeat over no-deal powers yesterday, said [...]
Markets lift as US-China trade talks reach conclusion January 9, 2019 Trade talks in Beijing between China and the US have concluded, with the results of the negotiations expected to be announced shortly. Asian markets lifted this morning on hopes that a deal had been secured. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed up more than two per cent and the Shanghai Composite was up almost one [...]