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Three City banks, a German software business and Facebook pay their staff the most in the UK, according to a new survey, while staff working at Domino’s Pizza and the shop chains Footasylum and Schuh receive the lowest rewards. The Swiss investment bank Credit Suisse and the German software firm Sap topped the list of the UK’s highest-paying companies compiled by the job search and recruiting website Glassdoor. – Guardian.
Boris Johnson is launching a bid to court One Nation Conservative MPs in the group of centrist liberals run by Amber Rudd, as he tries to pitch himself as a candidate who can appeal beyond rightwing Brexit supporters. The former foreign secretary, who is favourite to be the next Conservative leader, is backed by Brexit hardliner Jacob Rees-Mogg but infuriated many Tory colleagues by backing Theresa May’s deal after months of campaigning against it. – Guardian.
The founder of Huawei, Ren Zhengfei, has said the US “underestimates” the telecom giant’s strength, and that conflict with America was inevitable in the quest to “stand on top of the world”. Ren, speaking after Donald Trump declared a national emergency aimed at thwarting Huawei’s global 5G ambitions, told Chinese media: “The current practice of US politicians underestimates our strength. Huawei’s 5G will absolutely not be affected. In terms of 5G technologies, others won’t be able to catch up with Huawei in two or three years.
Google has suspended Huawei’s access to updates of its Android operating system and chipmakers have reportedly cut off supplies to the Chinese telecoms company, complying with orders from the US government as it seeks to blacklist Huawei around the world. In a fresh blow to Huawei, Google said it was complying with Trump’s executive order and was reviewing the “implications”, after Reuters initially reported the story. – Guardian.
British Steel has staved off the threat of collapse, despite the government refusing its request to participate in a bailout, after the firm’s owners and lenders agreed to provide fresh funds. The deal, reached after talks at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), secures the immediate future of 4,500 staff, most of whom work at the company’s Scunthorpe steelworks, one of the last two left in the UK. – Guardian.
Huawei has criticised as “unreasonable” Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to ban technology from “foreign adversaries” that is deemed to pose a risk to national security. In a statement reported by the state-run Global Times, Huawei said: “If the US restricts Huawei, it will not make the US safer, nor will it make the US stronger. It will only force the US to use inferior and expensive alternative equipment, lagging behind other countries .
British Steel is seeking emergency funds from the government, blaming politicians’ failure to strike a Brexit deal for a crisis that leaves one of the UK’s last two steelworks – and 4,500 staff – facing an uncertain future. The company, which owns the Scunthorpe steelworks, is in rescue talks with its lenders over a £75m rescue package that is understood to be at risk of falling apart unless the government contributes. - Guardian.
Rising inequality in Britain risks putting the country on the same path as the US to become one of the most unequal nations on earth, according to a Nobel-prize winning economist. Sir Angus Deaton is leading a landmark review of inequality in the UK amid fears that the country is at a tipping point due to a decade of stagnant pay growth for British workers. The Institute for Fiscal Studies thinktank, which is working with Deaton on the study, said the British-born economist would “point to the risk of the UK following the US” which has extreme inequality levels in pay, wealth and health.
Lloyds Banking Group, Foxtons and Paddy Power are among almost 100 firms that will be highlighted this year by an influential investor group for failing to boost the number of women on their boards. According to documents seen by the Guardian, the Investment Association (IA), which represents City firms with £7. 7tn in assets under management, is preparing to shame 94 listed companies for dragging their heels on gender diversity. It will do so by stamping their annual reports with the highest warning label.
Metro Bank has been forced to reassure customers their money is safe, acting quickly to quash what it described as false rumours on social media about its financial health. It said plans to raise £350m from investors to shore up its finances were “well advanced”. - The Guardian.
Financial markets were braced for a full-blown trade war between the world’s two economic superpowers as the US imposed higher tariffs on $200bn worth of Chinese goods. Last-minute talks in Washington between Chinese vice premier Liu He and US trade representative Robert Lighthizer failed to salvage months of talks on a deal and at 12. 01am on Friday tariffs on Chinese goods were raised to 25% from 10%. – Guardian.
Train companies are deterring passengers from claiming compensation for delays by asking for detailed and irrelevant information, according to the consumer group Which?. Some train firms demand up to 24 different pieces of information on claim forms – although others pay compensation automatically following delays. Which? accused the rail firms of “making passengers navigate a compensation maze” – and benefiting from not paying out to those who find the process too cumbersome.
Theresa May is poised to remain in office until the Conservative conference this September after setting a new summer deadline to complete Brexit talks. The prime minister was urged yesterday by Sir Graham Brady, chairman of the 1922 Committee of Tory backbenchers, to spell out a faster timetable for a departure before the Commons summer recess, which is expected in the third or fourth week of July. - The Times.
A Labour-backed report has called for the launch of universal basic income trials across the UK. Universal basic income (UBI), which takes the form of regular cash payments from the government to all adult citizens, has emerged as a popular concept in recent years because it could top up low pay and reduce inequality. A feasibility study commissioned by the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said a pilot scheme would work in the UK. – Guardian.
Crossrail was driven over its budget and schedule because its management team clung to an unrealistic opening date, according to a National Audit Office report into the delayed transport project. The NAO said that although problems had emerged as early as 2015, Crossraildid not take opportunities to change approach nor produce a sufficiently detailed delivery plan to track its progress. – Guardian.
A £1. 46bn sale of Network Rail’s property portfolio to private sector buyers was carried out without consideration of the impact on the lives and livelihoods of thousands of sitting tenants, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has found. The National Audit Office (NAO) also found that the rent charged for 5,261 properties sold to Telereal Trillium and Blackstone Property Partners could increase by 54% over the next three to four years. – Guardian.
The future of Sir Philip Green’s empire is hanging in the balance as industry insiders say a planned rescue may struggle to win approval from landlords. Board directors of Green’s Arcadia group, which owns a string of high-street chains including Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Wallis, were locked in an all-day meeting on Tuesday attempting to agree a way forward for the group. – Guardian.
Google shares slumped on Monday after the company failed to beat analyst predictions, following a year of internal turmoil, privacy concerns, and several international fines. Stock for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, was down 7% in after-hours trading after the company reported first quarter revenue of $36. 34bn, lower than the $37. 33bn revenue forecast by analysts. The quarter one earnings represent a 17% increase from the same time last year, in which it reported $31.
The slow-burn impact of Brexit on the British economy will be a drag on growth for the rest of 2019, blocking the Bank of England from raising interest rates, a leading economics forecaster has warned. Ahead of the first major policy decision from Threadneedle Street since Theresa May agreed to delay Brexit until the end of October, the EY Item Club said uncertainty over the country’s future would cut the UK’s growth rate. – Guardian.
Struggling Jaguar Land Rover is considering a bid for the minicab operator Addison Lee as it attempts to navigate the challenge to car ownership from Uber and driverless vehicles.
