The UK’s failure to attract investments from electric vehicle start-ups or large battery makers was “concerning”, the chief executive of luxury-car maker Bentley has warned. The government needs to deal with energy costs to spur investment and compete with other countries whose incentives are “an order of magnitude more attractive than the UK”, Adrian Hallmark
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Former Bank of England deputy governor Paul Tucker has called for a radical overhaul of how banks are funded so they could withstand a 100 per cent deposit run without following Silicon Valley Bank, Credit Suisse, Signature Bank and First Republic into finance’s graveyard. The recent spate of bank collapses alarmed regulators by showing how
The G7-led price cap on Russian oil exports has forced the Kremlin to raise the tax burden on producers, dealing a fresh blow to an energy sector already struggling with western sanctions, according to officials from the western coalition. An analysis of the tax change by a member of the G7-led coalition, which was shared
Brussels has proposed sanctions on Chinese companies for supporting Russia’s war machine for the first time since the war in Ukraine began, a development that is likely to increase tensions with Beijing. Seven Chinese businesses accused of selling equipment that could be used in weapons have been listed in a new package of sanctions to
The chief executives of five leading EU tech groups have called for Brussels to amend proposed data-sharing legislation, saying the new rules would force them to give up trade secrets and hand a competitive advantage to China. The intervention by the heads of SAP, Brainlab, Datev, Siemens and Siemens Healthineers — a separate company —
A Labour government would increase the stamp duty paid by foreign buyers of UK property while also restricting the sale of new-build properties to overseas investors under plans being drawn up for the party’s general election manifesto. Keir Starmer, Labour leader, wants to tackle Britain’s property affordability crisis, which has made it increasingly difficult for
The ancient ceremonials and military marches that attended the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday have given way to parties and events across Britain, as the UK enjoys a special Bank Holiday weekend. King Charles and his wife Queen Camilla were crowned at Westminster Abbey and later greeted a large crowd from the balcony
Powerful artificial intelligence systems can be of enormous benefit to society and help us tackle some of the world’s biggest problems. Machine learning models are already playing a significant role in diagnosing diseases, accelerating scientific research, boosting economic productivity and cutting energy usage by optimising electricity flows on power grids, for example. It would be
US Treasury secretary Janet Yellen has warned of a “constitutional crisis” that risks economic and financial catastrophe if Congress does not raise the federal debt limit, with the government in danger of running out of cash in the absence of new borrowing capacity. The White House and Republican lawmakers are in a stalemate over lifting
UK human rights groups have accused police of attacking civil liberties after officers arrested dozens of people to prevent disruption during the coronation of King Charles III. The Metropolitan Police said it had made 52 arrests on the day Charles was crowned King, including for “affray, public order offences, breach of the peace and conspiracy
Russia has started evacuating hundreds of civilians from occupied areas in south-eastern Ukraine, including families with children from a town housing workers at Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, raising fresh concerns about its safety. The evacuations that started over the weekend come as Russian officials accuse Ukraine of stepping up drone strikes on its territory
Economists are becoming increasingly concerned that the US will generate fresh turbulence in the coming weeks when it hits its debt ceiling and is unable to pay all its bills. With the two main political parties unable to agree an increase in the $31.4tn ceiling on US federal debt, Janet Yellen, Treasury secretary, has warned
US and European companies have blamed disappointing earnings on a slower than expected economic rebound in China, after the country’s sudden reopening from pandemic restrictions prompted over-optimistic growth forecasts. Cosmetics group Estée Lauder was the most high-profile example this week, suffering its sharpest one-day share price fall on record after it cut sales forecasts because
The ban on Russian crude oil is costing Poland’s state-controlled oil company millions of dollars a day as it struggles to find alternative supplies for its Czech refinery. Daniel Obajtek, chief executive of PKN Orlen, described losing Russian oil as a forfeit of about $27mn a day because of the price difference of about $30
PwC has launched an independent review of the practices and culture of its Australian unit after the publication of internal emails related to a scandal involving the sharing of confidential government information on planned tax laws. The emails, published by a senate committee, showed how PwC had used confidential information provided by Peter-John Collins, its
Revolut chief executive Nik Storonsky has blamed recent banking turmoil for the latest delays to the fintech’s long-awaited UK banking licence, claiming the cause of the hold up “is really not us”. Revolut has been locked in discussions with the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority about a UK banking licence for more than
Deals between private equity firms in Europe have plunged to their lowest levels since the Covid-19 pandemic as the buyout game of pass-the-parcel is hit by rising debt costs and investors’ concerns about the economic outlook. In the first three months of this year the value of deals struck between rival private equity firms in
City grandees are calling for an increase in pay for Britain’s top bosses to help lure and retain the best executives, warning London will otherwise suffer an exodus of talent as companies head overseas. Despite big rebellions by shareholders against chunky pay packets, some of the UK’s senior fund managers support better remuneration to hold
For the past three years, successive shocks have buffeted the UK economy. Covid-19 drove consumers online, office workers to their kitchen tables and older workers into retirement. Energy prices rocketed, while Brexit rewrote the rules of trade and immigration, reshaping the labour market. Yet the latest official data suggests this upheaval has made very little
Veteran Balkan politicians know better than to be enthusiastic about deals made under pressure in diplomatic back rooms. But the events of March 18 gave Visar Ymeri, a former leader of Kosovo’s ruling party, reason to be optimistic. “We have a deal,” the EU’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said as he wrapped up a
Warren Buffett says there would have been “catastrophic” consequences if US regulators had not insured the deposits at Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, as their failures risked sparking a run at lenders across the country. “Even though the FDIC [Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation] limit is $250,000 . . . that is not the way the US is going to