Business

Investment in the UK car sector has dropped by almost £2 billion in three years as Brexit fears put firms on "red alert", the industry's trade body said. In 2015, car manufacturers invested £2.5 billion in the UK. Since then it has fallen ever year and in 2018 was just £589 million. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) say the fall-off in inward investment is down to Brexit uncertainty, which has "done enormous damage" according to SMMT chief Mike Hawes....

Historian Rutger Bregman visited Davos and did not hold back on his thoughts about the super rich. He called out 'stupid philanthropy schemes' Bregman said that the real issue that needs tackling to make a fairer playing field is tax avoidance. He said: 'We can invite Bono once more but come on we've got to be talking about taxes ... all the rest is bullshit in my opinion,' he says. Bregaman said he feels like he’s ‘at a firefighters conference...

As MPs are due back in parliament to debate Brexit, Britain's food retailers warn that a no deal Brexit would affect the country's food security. Food retailers including Sainsbury's, Co-Op, Lidl, KFC, Asda, Pret-A-Manger, Waitrose and Marks & Spencer warned MPs “our supply chains are closely linked to Europe — nearly one third of the food we eat in the UK comes from the EU.” The open letter to MPs from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned MPs to avoid...

Facebook execs today unveiled plans to integrate the messaging element of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram in a move set to bolster the group’s dominance of social media. This will mean that Facebook users for example, will be able to message a WhatsApp user making the ecosystem the social media giant is creating even more seamless. Merging communication between the apps is set to occur by the end of this year or early 2020 and will pit the reach of the...

The drastic slump on the high street shows no signs of improving after a report indicated that 70,000 retail jobs were cut in 2018. Customers are increasingly shopping on-line leading to huge falls in profits for many household name retailers. The British Retail Consortium (BRC), who conducted the study, said that even the Christmas season failed to halt the decline of customers avoiding the high street. The BRC's report said there was a 2.2% decline in retail employment over the...

Tom Enders, the head of Airbus, a major UK employer has not held back over his thoughts on the Government’s handling of Brexit. Enders slammed the Government branding it a “disgrace” and said the business might be forced to leave these shores, post-Brexit, to ensure they can compete in the global marketplace. Airbus, which employs more than 14,000 people in the UK with around 110,000 more jobs connected in supply chain. He said: “In a global economy the UK no...

The revolving door between Government and big business is a well-trodden path, which shows no signs of abating. Now former Brexit Secretary, David Davis, will trouser a colossal £3,000 an hour as an advisor to JCB. The firm ploughs million into the Conservative Party. It total Davis will be paid £60k for 20 hours work per annum. He will receive £50 a minute for his work. Davis said he had complied with the rules concerning former ministers' employment. He resigned from...

Political uncertainty, the fall in the value of the pound and the crisis on the high street have all taken a toll on Europe's biggest toy market

As the possibility of a No deal Brexit continues the impact of this potential scenario is being calculated. The CBI (Confederation of Business Industry) have illustrated the long-term economic decline the North East would disproportionally suffer under a No Deal situation, compared to the rest of the UK. The study has calculated that the annual loss of output in this region would be worth £7billion by 2034, in an area of the country that is already one of the poorest...