Business and Economics

In a fresh blow to the North East economy it has been announced that Nissan won’t make the new X-Trail vehicle at their Sunderland car plant. There are a number of reasons for the decision but uncertainty over Brexit was one of the factors that contributed to the change of plans. The car maker has originally planned to build the new range in the North East, and could have led to an expansion of the workforce. Nissan's Europe division boss...

Nearly 30 years-worth of Britain’s net EU budgetary contribution was lost in one click this week after Barclays announced it is to move €190 billion (£166 billion) worth of assets from the UK to Ireland in preparation for a possible no-deal Brexit. The bank said it "cannot wait any longer" to implement its Brexit contingency plan, which was approved by the high court on Wednesday. Assets linked to around 5,000 clients will be moved to a Dublin-based unit, which is expected...

Industry bosses have warned that a third of British businesses are thinking of relocating abroad. The latest figures from the Institute of Directors (IOD) warn 16% of companies have already started the move, and 13% have now started actively planning it. The IOD surveyed 1,200 company directors and in shocking news for the British economy and UK jobs found only 62% confirmed that they have no intention of setting up outside the UK. This is a shocking vote of no...

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...

The reality of Brexit uncertainty is starting to bite, experts have said after the number of personal insolvencies hit its highest level since 2011. Insolvency Service figures showed 115,299 people became insolvent in England and Wales last year, 20 per cent up on 2017. The number of companies going under also reached a five-year high in 2018. There were 17,439 company insolvencies last year — the highest since 2013 — driven by a big jump in numbers of builders and retailers...

Researchers say that many more people may die over the next decade if Britain presses ahead with Brexit because the UK is "heavily dependent" on fruit and veg imports

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...