Our final event of the year will be at Devereux Chambers on 14th December. We hope to see you
there!
During
his campaign, Donald Trump pledged to renegotiate trade deals, including those with
China, to benefit the US. A former adviser to George Bush has said that he may
make US trade more “nuanced” than these tough campaign promises suggested.
Pippa Malmgren told the BBC that he may not be able to implement protectionist
policies without damaging the US economy.
Ratings
agency Standard & Poor said on Friday that a “hard” Brexit, where Britain
loses its free access to the European Union market, now looks like the most
likely outcome of the country’s plan to leave the bloc. In its latest update on
Britain’s economy S&P said that the country will suffer the brunt of the
economic impact of Brexit and that the effects on the world economy will be
more limited. They said that it appeared that Britain’s government had yet to
accept that the EU is unlikely to yield on the indivisibility of its four
freedoms – the free moment of people, capital, goods and services.
The
Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, has vowed to stem the flow of “dirty money” into
the City of London in an attempt to end its reputation as a safe haven for “criminals
and corrupt kleptomats” to hide their money. She highlighted a National Crime
Agency estimate that £90bn is laundered in London every year and conceded that
the UK has much more work to do to prevent financial crime, which she called a “national
security threat” which costs the country £24bn a year.
Following
this week’s US election result, the pound has continued to recover ground, news
that will bring some respite to businesses that import goods and holiday makers
buying foreign currency. For the first time in five weeks sterling is worth
$1.26, having sunk as low as $1.21 a month ago. That is a rise of about 4%. Against
the euro, the pound has risen by more than 6% over the same period, up from
€1.09 to €1.16.
Google
has attacked an EU crackdown on its Android software, claiming that efforts to
impede the mobile operating system could harm the company’s ability to compete
with Apple and threaten its ability to give Android away for free. The internet
giant disputed claims that exploits Android’s domination of the smartphone
market to promote its lucrative search engine and app store. The move is the
latest in a bitter battle with Brussels which could ultimately see Google fined
billions of dollars.
In Other News
-
Pensions Regulator seeks 'multiples of £1m' from Chappell over BHS - https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/nov/10/pensions-regulator-seeks-millions-dominic-chappell-retail-acquisitions-bhs-pension-deficit
-
Stock futures fall as investors adjust portfolios after Trump win - http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks-idUKKBN13619K
-
Trump considers JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon for Treasury Secretary - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2016/11/10/trump-considers-jpmorgan-boss-jamie-dimon-for-treasury-secretary/
-
UK construction output weakest in four years in third quarter after Brexit vote
- http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-housing-idUKKBN1360T6
Please comment
below with your thoughts on this week’s news. How will the results of the US
election affect your business? We always love to hear from you!