Market Buzz
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Budget, Trump, Afren, Restaurant Group
Philip Hammond will allow the government’s spending deficit to rise next year as he seeks to pay for the first round of extra NHS spending and a series of measures that will “bring an end to the era of austerity”. The chancellor sanctioned a rise from 1. 2% to 1. 4% in the annual deficit between this year and 2019/20 as he sought to honour promises made by the prime minister to boost spending on health, local authority housing and a freeze on fuel duty. - Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit, debt, BT, LandSec, Tesla
American companies were among consultancies paid more than £1. 5 million last month to advise officials drawing up plans to implement Brexit. Figures released by the Cabinet Office reveal the extent of spending on project management fees by the teams co-ordinating the government’s response to leaving the EU. - The Times.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Budget, Brexit, banks, Debenhams, FirstGroup
The chancellor will cut business rates bills by a third for almost half a million small high street shops in a £1. 5bn spending pledge to fight the threat posed by Amazon and other online retailers. In next week’s budget, Philip Hammond will order £900m of immediate business rates relief for small retailers in an effort to combat shuttered shops on the high street, where small businesses have been threatened by high rates and the rapid rise of online shopping.
Friday newspaper round-up: Brexit, debt warning, Halfords, LSE
Britain’s economic growth will slow to its lowest rate in a decade if it leaves the European Union without a trading deal in place, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research has warned. The institute, which uses the Treasury’s forecasting model, said that a no-deal Brexit would push growth down to 0. 3 per cent in 2019, a slowdown not seen since the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2009 when the economy shrank by 4. 2 per cent. - The Times.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Debenhams, Microsoft, WPP, Afren
Debenhams has confirmed plans to shut up to 50 stores, nearly a third of the UK-wide chain, putting up to 5,000 jobs at risk. The struggling department store also unveiled a near £500m annual loss as it writes off the value of its brand and the cost of unwanted shop leases and IT systems. Debenhams, which currently has 165 stores and employs 27,000 people, is struggling to adapt as shoppers switch away from the traditional high street towards spending more on leisure activities and to buying online.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Fracking, Brexit, Facebook, Patisserie Holdings
Fracking operations in Lancashire have been shut down after seismic activity was detected. The move came a little more than a week after the process was restarted in the UK for the first time since it was banned in 2011. Cuadrilla Resources, which is carrying out the operations at its Preston New Road site, confirmed it paused work early on Tuesday as a precaution because of the microseismic event, which was measured at a magnitude of 0. 4 and within the limit allowed by UK authorities.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Netflix, Budget, tax-free shopping, Patisserie Valerie
Netflix has announced plans to raise a further $2bn (£1. 5bn) in debt, adding to mounting long-term liabilities which now total more than $30bn. The US streaming service said the money raised will be used for a range of “general corporate purposes”, from buying new programmes and films to acquisitions. – Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Energy bills, Hammond, Lloyd's of London, Debenhams
Around a third of dual fuel energy tariffs will leave customers paying more than the government’s price cap when it takes effect at the end of the year. While ministers have promised that the cap will protect 11m households on poor-value default tariffs, the measure does not apply to fixed tariffs which are usually thought to be more competitive. – Guardian.
Friday newspaper round-up: Brexit, HSBC, Unilever, Amazon, Uber
Theresa May is facing the most perilous week of her premiership after infuriating all sections of her party by making further concessions to Brussels. Her offer to extend the transition period after Brexit — made without cabinet approval — enraged Remain and Leave Tory MPs alike. With confidence in No 10 ebbing away, rival blocs of Conservative MPs stepped up plotting against the prime minister. - The Times.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, US rates, power, restaurants
Theresa May has hinted that the UK could extend the Brexit transition period to allow more time for trade talks, but she dismayed leaders at a crunch Brussels summit by failing to offer any new ideas to break the impasse over the Irish border. In a development that immediately drew the wrath of Brexit supporters, EU officials said that the prime minister had suggested she was “ready to consider” a longer transition period in the hope of breaking open the deadlocked talks.
Wednesday paper round-up: Brexit, more Brexit, consumer confidence, Amazon
Theresa May will urge EU leaders in Brussels on Wednesday to keep the door open to continuing Brexit negotiations, after a two and a half hour cabinet meeting that underscored the challenge of bridging the gap between London and Brussels in the days ahead. May told her colleagues on Tuesday: “If we as a government stand together and stand firm, we can achieve this. ” - Guardian.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Yellen, Italy, Grant Thornton
Theresa May faces a frantic 48 hours to try to save her Brexit negotiating strategy after she admitted talks had ground to a halt because of the EU’s insistence upon a Northern Ireland-only backstop. The prime minister is expected to plead with EU leaders to drop their Irish backstop proposal at a make-or-break summit dinner on Wednesday night after seeking the support of members of her cabinet on Tuesday morning. - Guardian.
Monday newspaper round-up: Brexit, banks, budget, tobacco, motor insurance
The Brexit negotiations are on a knife-edge as Theresa May’s domestic vulnerability over the Irish border threatens to kill off hopes of an October deal, with the Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, forced to make a dash to Brussels to seek more time from the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier. Days before the crunch leaders’ summit at which the EU has demanded “maximum progress” be made to allow the talks to develop, Raab made the unexpected flying visit.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Patisserie, Lloyds, Babcock, vaping
The UK Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, is holding crunch talks with the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, after making an unexpected dash to Brussels days ahead of a “moment of truth” leaders’ summit. Raab arrived in the Belgian capital on Sunday for a 4pm meeting, with the talks expected to last late into the night, sources close to the Brexit secretary said. - Observer.
Friday newspaper round-up: Coast, Irish cheddar, StockX, Blackstone, Patisserie Holdings
The fashion chain Coast has become the latest casualty of the high-street crisis, with 300 jobs and 24 stores set to go. The brand’s high-street stores are closing, but its 145 department-store concessions will carry on trading as part of the sale to sister brand Karen Millen as part of an 11th-hour rescue deal. – Guardian.
Thursday newspaper round-up: Brexit, BP chief, Elon Musk, Tesco
Brexit uncertainty has crushed confidence in the property market, according to the official surveyors’ body, with buyers evaporating, prices falling and sales taking a record amount of time to complete. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said the time taken to complete a property sale has widened to 19 weeks, the longest duration since it began collecting data. – Guardian.
Wednesday newspaper round-up: Brexit, HSBC, Barclays, Paddy Power
Britain’s public finances are among the weakest in the world following the 2008 financial crash, according to a fresh assessment of government assets and liabilities by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The Washington-based lender said a health check on the wealth of 31 nations found almost £1tn had been wiped off the wealth of the UK’s public sector – equivalent to 50% of GDP – putting it in the second weakest position, with only Portugal in a worse state.
Tuesday newspaper round-up: IMF, Brexit, taxes, BT, Unilever
Clouds are gathering over the world economy because of a burgeoning international trade war, while Brexit fears are taking an unexpected toll on Europe, the world’s lender of last resort has warned. The International Monetary Fund has downgraded its forecast for global growth from by 0. 2 percentage points this year and next, in its World Economic Outlook. - Telegraph.
Monday newspaper round-up: housing, Brexit, stamp duty, RBS
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, is considering using this month’s budget to introduce a “good landlord” tax break rewarding investors who sell properties to sitting tenants amid a housing crisis that has left 40% of young adults unable to buy a home. The Treasury is weighing up a new Help to Buy proposal whereby landlords would not have to pay capital gains tax when selling up to tenants who had been living in a property for at least three years. The plan has been drawn up by the right-wing thinktank Onward, which suggests the £1.
Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, GSK, Unilever, bookmakers, trains
Brexiteers have issued a last-ditch threat to vote down the budget and destroy the government unless Theresa May takes a tougher line with Brussels — amid signs that she is on course to secure a deal with the European Union. Leading members of the hardline European Research Group (ERG) last night vowed to vote down government legislation after it was claimed the prime minister will use Labour MPs to push her plan through the Commons. - Sunday Times.