Daily Briefing: 16th September 2016
Good morning,
George Osborne has found himself a new job as chair of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership, a think tank that will push for further devolution to the north of England in order to create an economy that will rival the South East.
The establishment of the so called “Northern Powerhouse” had been a key plank of Osborne’s time as Chancellor and his latest move suggests an attempt to pressure Downing Street into ensuring the initiative is progressed. There had been concerns that the project would be quietly dropped with reports that it is not a priority for Theresa May, but the government has denied any lack of commitment.
No doubt the Member for Tatton will want to ensure that he has some sort of legacy from his time leading HM Treasury, particularly after his rather unceremonious demotion to the backbenches following Theresa May’s move to 10 Downing Street.
In other news, Donald Trump has finally conceded that Barack Obama was born in the United States. An emailed statement from the Republican candidate’s communications adviser James Miller said, “Mr Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States.”
He is only 55 years behind everyone else.
NEWS
The Telegraph today leads with comments from Boris Johnson, who has said that Heathrow expansion is a “fantasy” and should be “consigned to the dustbin”. This comes after news that the Foreign Secretary has been excluded from the Cabinet committee that will decide on airport expansion and leaked documents suggesting Theresa May will grant a free vote on the issue.
The Ministry of Defence has apologised for the death of an Iraqi teenager who drowned in Basra in May 2003 after being forced into a canal by four British soldiers. Ahmad Jabbar Kareem Ali, who was 15 at the time, had been detained by the troops on suspicion of looting. He and three other suspected looters were forced into the water for a “soaking” and Ahmad got into difficulty before drowning. The report said that the soldiers’ failure to help was the “plain and certain” cause of death. Those in question were tried in a British court for manslaughter and acquitted in 2006.
Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the EU Commission has said that Brexit was the result of 40 years of lies and half-truths propagated by British political leaders. He was speaking before an EU summit in Bratislava where the UK’s decision to leave the Union is the main topic of discussion.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
The Guardian reports that bonuses paid to UK workers rose above £44 billion in the year to March, exceeding pre-financial crisis levels for the first time. Unsurprisingly, those working in financial services received the highest payouts, whilst those in the health and social sectors received virtually nothing. This will surely spur on Theresa May, who has made tackling inequality a priority of her premiership.
Shares in Deutsche Bank dropped sharply after Germany’s biggest bank received a claim for $14 billion from the US Department of Justice related to allegations of mis-selling mortgage securities. In a statement, Deutsche said it had it had no intention of settling the claims for anything like the $14 billion figure, with sources suggesting that the bank’s executives were hopeful for a deal similar to that which was reached with Goldman Sachs earlier in the year. In that instance, an initial claim for $15 billion was made but, after negotiations, Goldman Sachs ended up paying $5 billion.
Regulators in the US have ordered a formal recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 after several reports of fires being caused by faulty batteries. The fault is thought to affect 2.5 million devices worldwide and the South Korean manufacturer had already launched a voluntary recall, insisting that, “consumer safety is always our highest priority.”
MARKETS
Market News
The FTSE 100 finished Thursday 57 points higher at 6,730, a rise of 1% on the day.
It was a good day for supermarkets with Morrisons’ shares increasing 7.5% thanks to a reported rise in both sales and profits. Tesco was up 5%.
However, elsewhere in the retail sector, things were not quite so rosy. Next was down 5% after fall in half-year profits and this, combined with falling profits at John Lewis, led shares at Marks & Spencer to drop 2.6%.
On the currency markets, the pound was barely changed against the dollar at $1.321 and against the euro at €1.175.
Finals
Finsbury Food Group
Interims
BrainJuicer Group, Mereo Biopharma Group
AGMs
Avengardco Investments Public Ltd GDR, ECO Animal Health Group, Real Estate Credit Investments PCC Ltd, Tungsten Corporation
EGMs
PJSC Megafon GDR (Reg S)
Int Economic Announcements
(13.30) Consumer Price Index (US)
(15.00) U. of Michigan Confidence (Prelim) (US)
COLUMNS OF NOTE
Writing in The Sun, George Osborne argues that the Northern Powerhouse will reverse 100 years of relative economic decline in the north of England and end the north/south divide. He welcomes Theresa May’s commitment to continuing with the policy but also argues that Whitehall cannot be left to do all the work — businesses and local leaders must play their part too.
In The Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash looks at university safe spaces and the implications for free speech. However, he also argues that government policies such as the Prevent Strategy are a threat too and anything that undermines free speech — from the left and right — should be resisted.
ON THIS DAY
The 16th September 1992 becomes known as “Black Wednesday” after the UK government is forced to withdraw sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) due to an inability to keep the pound above its agreed lower limit.
POLITICAL HIGHLIGHTS
House of Commons
No business scheduled
House of Lords
No business scheduled
Scottish Parliament
No business scheduled
