Business and Economics

Three quarters of UK automotive businesses fear a ‘no-deal’ Brexit will threaten their future viability, according to a new member survey announced by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) at its 102nd annual dinner in London this evening. The results highlight the critical need for a Brexit withdrawal deal and transition to prevent the industry falling off the cliff-edge on March 29 when the UK leaves its largest and closest trading partner, the EU. 74.1% of companies with UK...

The near future of the global economy looks "extremely bleak," according to state of the art statistical analysis of the influential S&P 500 stock market index by nuclear scientists

Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Corporate Responsibility Kelly Tolhurst MP contacted Sweet Pea & Olive owner Linda Driver to offer her help and support at her high street shop on Small Business Saturday this weekend.

The Government has accepted the LPC's recommendations for future minimum wage rates. The rates below will apply from 1 April 2019. Responding to today’s Low Pay Commission report on wages, Young Women’s Trust chief executive Dr Carole Easton OBE said:“The Government should go further than adopting the Low Pay Commission’s recommendations and extend the ‘national living wage’ to all workers. Allowing employers to pay young people lower wages for no other reason than their age, as the Government is doing,...

These job losses, on top of those at Cammell Laird and the announced closure of Appledore, show this Government’s industrial strategy is in tatters says GMBUnion GMB, the union for Bombardier workers, has criticised a Government Minister for ‘washing his hands’ of bombardier job losses. Richard Harrington, Minsters for Business, Energy, Innovation and Strategy, said "Bombardier is a private company and the Government has no role it's commercial decisions..." in Parliament today. Bombardier yesterday announced 490 job cuts in Northern Ireland...

Denise Coates, the multibillionaire founder and boss of gambling firm Bet365, paid herself £265m last year. This is a record-breaking pay deal for a chief executive of a British company. Denise's pay is over 9,500 times the average UK salary, and 1,300 times that paid to Theresa May. Luke Hildyard, a director of the High Pay Centre, said: “Why does someone who is already a billionaire need to take such an obscene amount of money out of their company? It...

An evening in which the DUP stopped propping up Theresa May's majority in parliament during what should have been a rubber-stamping of Chancellor Philip Hammond's budget saw another major blow to the likelihood of Theresa May winning a House of Commons vote on her Brexit deal. In an equally embarrassing set back for Theresa May, she was also forced tonight to agree to publish her full economic advice on the impact of her proposed Brexit agreement compared to the economic...

Biggest November drop since 2012, with former hotspots hit hardest, says Rightmove The richest parts of the UK are feeling the brunt of the fall in property prices, according to website Rightmove. It is the biggest drop since November 2012. House prices have dipped over £5,000 on average. The biggest falls were in London, where the typical asking price fell by £10,793 (a fall of 1.7%) and in the south-east of England, where prices were down £8,647 (2.1%). “Higher-end, former...

The pound is plummeting after Dominic Raab, and three other prominent Ministers resigned the morning, following May's Brexit deal with the EU. The prospect of a 'no deal' Brexit is rising and the Pound is falling. The Pound-to-Euro exchange rate is quoted at 1.1334, the Pound-to-Dollar exchange rate at 1.2786. We are seeing huge +1% losses against the Australian and New Zealand Dollars. Commenting on the fall in Sterling following the resignation of Dominic Raab, Secretary of State for Exiting...