Business

Britain's financial watchdog has defended its controversial decision not to sanction lender RBS or its former executives for past mistreatment of small business customers. The Financial Conduct Authority said it was sticking by its decision not to apply penalties for actions of RBS's former turnaround unit, the Global Restructuring Group. "Our investigation has found that GRG clearly fell short of the high standards its clients expected but it was largely unregulated and so our powers to take action in such...

The global use of the euro currency surged from record lows last year, mostly on a flight from the dollar due to the volatility of American politics and concerns about rising U.S. interest rates, the European Central Bank said on Thursday. Demand for the euro, the world's second most widely used currency after the dollar, fell to historic lows over the past decade. Its rebound suggests both concerns about U.S. politics and growing confidence about the future of the euro...

Prince Andrew, the second son of Queen Elizabeth, said on Wednesday he saw no reason why British businesses could not survive Brexit and the recent visit of President Donald Trump had shown him the issue would also not effect U.S. relations. The royal family is expected to remain neutral on political matters and has mostly avoided making any reference to Brexit, although the 93-year-old queen issued a delicately coded message to lawmakers in January, urging them to seek common ground....

The average employee reckons they waste almost 15 weeks a year - carrying out “pointless” tasks at work, according to research. The study of 2,000 workers found typically 142 minutes a day - more than two hours - are spent doing admin, paperwork and attending meetings when they could be getting on with more important jobs. That equates to a staggering 76 working days across a 48 week year, assuming workers take four weeks annual leave. It also emerged at...

The UK economy took a huge knock in April as Brexit rumbles on. It contracted by 0.4 per cent compared to the month before, marking its biggest monthly fall since March 2016. It follows a decline of 0.1 per cent in March 2019. Industrial production declined by 2.7 per cent during April, with manufacturing shrinking by an alarming 3.9 per cent. This appears to be due to UK car plants shutting down in April, as manufacturers prepared for a no-deal...

Analysis shows households face a 17% surge in grocery shopping basket costs if UK defaults to WTO trade terms Shoppers face being hit with hundreds of pounds extra on food and drink bills if the UK leaves the EU with ‘no deal’, new analysis for GMB union reveals today. The figures show a family's weekly shop could rocket by more than £800 a year. A report by Acuity Analysis for GMB union compares a weekly basket of goods in current...

Owners had previously warned that Brexit would lead to factory closures

Activity across UK building firms fell last month, driven by a sharp decline in commercial construction and civil engineering, according to data firm Markit. Commercial building was the weakest sector, with output falling to the greatest extent since September 2017.  Survey respondents said that clients had opted to hold back on major spending decisions in response to Brexit uncertainty. Civil engineering also fell for a fourth straight month, the longest run since the first half of 2013. Duncan Brock, group...

Signs that European customers are "abandoning" UK firms are starting to show after British manufacturing recorded the steepest downturn in almost three years. Following an early Brexit stockpiling boom at the start of the year May figures dipped significantly for UK manufacturers with new orders drying up. Make UK - formerly known as the EEF – said the downturn shows investment plans have been "paralysed" by Brexit uncertainty in the second quarter of the year, warning that a 'no deal'...