US Congress and White House agree ‘best deal ever’ to replace Nafta December 10, 2019 US President Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi have agreed on a replacement for the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) with Canada and Mexico. The Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives gave her support for the USMCA this afternoon. Read more: US and Canada quash fears with last-minute deal to revamp Nafta In exchange [...]
Whoever wins this election, our politics will remain in flux December 10, 2019 Nothing except an election lost can be half so melancholy as an election won. That’s what the Duke of Wellington might have said after he swapped the battlefield for politics. Come Friday morning, each of the major parties will be reckoning with the result — and may find pain in victory as well as defeat. [...]
Neil Woodford shuts offices as investment business winds down December 10, 2019 Neil Woodford’s investment company has moved out of its Oxfordshire offices as the business continues the process of closing down. Former star stockpicker Woodford announced that he was shutting down Woodford Investment Management in October, following a dramatic fall from grace that had seen his flagship fund frozen for several months. Read more: City regulator [...]
Sorrell’s S4 Capital appoints two new directors as it turns focus to Asia December 10, 2019 Sir Martin Sorrell’s digital ad firm S4 Capital has appointed two new directors to its board as it turns its focus to Asia. S4 today announced that Naoko Okumoto and Margaret Ma Connolly will join as non-executive directors with immediate effect. Read more: Martin Sorrell’s S4 Capital boosts revenue and profit The appointments mean that [...]
Amazon sues Pentagon over claims Trump to blame for failure to win $10bn defence contract December 9, 2019 Amazon has opened legal proceedings against the Pentagon, alleging that the online giant was denied a $10bn (£7.6bn) US defence contract due to US President Donald Trump’s personal vendetta against chief executive Jeff Bezos. In a court filing made public today, Amazon claimed that its failure to secure the contract was result of improper pressure [...]
North Korea brands Trump an ‘erratic old man’ December 9, 2019 A senior North Korean official has called US president Donald Trump a “heedless and erratic old man” as the rekindled war of words between the two countries heats up. In a statement carried on state media, ruling party vice chairman Kim Yong Chol described Trump as impatient and rebuked him over his rhetoric. Read more: [...]
Watch Tesla boss Elon Musk take his Cybertruck out for a spin December 9, 2019 Outspoken Tesla boss Elon Musk has yet again used his celebrity status to promote his latest product, taking the controversial Cybertruck out for a night on the town in Malibu. The eccentric billionaire, who was last week cleared of defamation for calling a British cave diver a “pedo guy” on Twitter, arrived at paparazzi hotspot [...]
The best and worst political adverts of the General Election 2019 campaign December 9, 2019 It is the holiday season, and every day another Christmas advertising campaign drops. But this year, a festive election is happening for the first time in 96 years — and whether we like it or not, it’s hanging over everything. In no particular order, and with a pinch of non-partisan cynicism, here are some honest [...]
The brain-dead era of Angela Merkel is limping to a finish December 9, 2019 The always interesting French President Emmanuel Macron got it precisely wrong in November when he airily derided Nato — the most successful alliance in the history of the world — as experiencing “brain death”. Brazening it out, Macron doubled down, defending his remark at the Nato summit of last week. As I never tire of [...]
Elon Musk defamation trial: Tesla founder wins case over ‘pedo guy’ remark December 7, 2019 A US jury has ruled that Elon Musk did not defame a British caver who helped in last year’s rescue of trapped Thai schoolboys by calling him a “pedo guy”. Vernon Unsworth sought $190m (£145m) in damages from the billionaire on the grounds that the tweet had damaged his reputation. It came amid a public [...]
