Rishi Sunak says UK ‘moving forward’ on own rules for City after EU talks stall – as it happened

1st July 2021 RMS Manager

Chancellor tells Mansion House breakfast that talks on financial services equivalence have ‘not happened’

Latest: Sunak says UK and EU haven’t reached financial services equivalence deal
Sunak: We’ll use freedom to do things differently and better
Calls for ‘mature and balanced’ relationship with China

Earlier:

Sunderland gets UK’s first electric battery factory
Nissan to build new electric vehicle on site
Plan creates 1,650 roles, and 4,500 more in supply chain
Gap to close all 81 stores in UK and Ireland

8.07pm BST

That’s all for today – here’s our main stories:

8.07pm BST

Bad news for younger readers, and those with a sweeter tooth.

“As is the case with many manufacturers and retailers throughout the country, we are experiencing challenges with regards to the nationwide driver shortage.

We are working with partners across the food and drink industry to address and respond to this problem.”

8.02pm BST

Another important development tonight.. efforts to force multinational companies to pay a fairer share of tax have taken a decisive step forward after 130 countries and jurisdictions agreed to plans for a global minimum corporate tax rate.

In a landmark moment for the world economy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a statement committing each of the countries to a two-pillar plan to radically reshape the global tax system.

7.58pm BST

Talks to secure City of London access to the EU have stalled, Rishi Sunak has confirmed in his first Mansion House speech to financiers, as he set out sweeping reforms designed to help Britain’s finance industry embrace global opportunities after Brexit, my colleague Richard Partington writes:

7.53pm BST

The owner of JD Sports has been hit by a shareholder revolt over executive pay after it emerged boss Peter Cowgill was paid almost £6m in bonuses since February last year, despite the company accepting more than £100m in government support.

Andrew Leslie, chair of the remuneration committee which oversees executive pay at JD Sports, was forced to step down on Thursday after 11 years on the board, when he failed to gain enough votes from independent shareholders for re-election at the company’s annual meeting on Thursday.

JD Sports non-executive director Andrew Leslie ousted by shareholders https://t.co/5UrXW9G7GW pic.twitter.com/t30zbNZbXH

JD Sports pay resolutions passed at AGM amid expectations of a row but non-executive Andrew Leslie has been voted off the board! Leslie has been on board since 2010 & JD acknowledged earlier today that it needed to refresh its board as some had stayed longer than recommended

7.32pm BST

Shares in UK hospitality companies, retailers and pub chains rallied today, alongside airlines, on renewed hopes that the lockdown will end on 19 July.

Transport firm FirstGroup (+6.7%), cinema chain Cineworld (+6.3%), casino and bingo hall operator Rank (+5.5%), retail group WH Smiths (+5.2%) and pub chain Mitchells & Butlers (+4.9%) were all among the top risers on the FTSE 250 index — the smaller share index that contains more UK-companies.

“It might not have a capital “F”, it might come with a few limitations, but Boris Johnson has promised “freedom day” and it’s coming on July 19^th. Cue a clean sweep of risers across the FTSE 100 and 250 from the Leisure and Travel sectors. The former cheered by the prospect that social distancing might finally stop hampering trade and the latter grabbing onto the PM’s other comment that vaccine passports should allow foreign holidays this summer. There are still a whole of boatload of questions that need answering and we’re promised details within the next few days.

“This outpouring of positivity was needed today as businesses begin to be weaned off government support programmes like furlough. Reading between the lines it’s clear there will still be challenges, not least to the travel companies, but at least they’ve got into the second half of the year on the front foot.

7.10pm BST

The day began with a boost for UK car making – with Nissan announcing a major expansion of electric vehicle production at its car plant in Sunderland which will create 1,650 new jobs, including a much-needed gigafactory.

“Building on over 30 years of history in the area, this is a pivotal moment in our electric vehicle revolution and securing its future for decades to come.”

6.50pm BST

Over in New York, the S&P 500 index has hit a new record high after America’s jobs market continued to recover.

The number of fresh initial claims for unemployment benefit dropped to 364,000 last week, a new pandemic low, down around 51,000 compared with the previous seven days.

Initial jobless claims declined 51K last week, falling to a new pandemic low of 364K. While claims are steadily declining, the weekly average in the first half of 2021 was 639K. The weekly average was 1.35 million in 2020 and 218K in 2019. #economy pic.twitter.com/Z9SABJJ53O

OPEC+ Considering Extending Talks One Day: Delegates

UAE Has Asked for New Cuts Baseline in OPEC+ Deal: Delegate #OOTT #OPEC #Oil #EFT

6.31pm BST

Hedge fund Elliott Management has piled the pressure on GlaxoSmithKline’s CEO, Emma Walmsley, today.

A week after Walmsley outlined her strategy for GSK, including spinning off its consumer division, Elliott demanded its board launches a process to determine if Walmsley is the right candidate to lead the pharmaceuticals firm, and appoint new board directors.

The US activist investor Elliott Management has in effect demanded Dame Emma Walmsley reapply for her job as chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline before the pharmaceutical company’s demerger of its consumer healthcare division next year.

In a 17-page public letter (pdf) to GSK chairman Sir Jonathan Symonds and the board, the New York hedge fund, which took a “significant” stake in the drugmaker in April, set out a number of recommendations to restore GSK’s credibility after, it wrote, “years of disappointing performance”. It is Elliott’s first public statement since its investment.

6.02pm BST

UK factories aren’t the only ones struggling with supply chain woes.

In the US, the eurozone, and globally, manufacturers have reported strong output growth in June.

Manufacturing growth in the #eurozone accelerated to a new record high in June, as the #PMI ticked up to 63.4 (May: 63.1). Jobs growth hit new heights, though prices also rose at a record pace amid supply side constraints. Read more: https://t.co/80AdP81qPm pic.twitter.com/elqaV1MT9J

The U.S manufacturing sector saw the joint-fastest improvement in conditions on record during June, with the #PMI at 62.1. Output and new orders rose markedly again, but worsening supply disruption weighed on production growth. Read more: https://t.co/7JVaFtg0e4 pic.twitter.com/WETbnyzswG

Global manufacturing saw another solid upturn in June, with the #PMI posting 55.5 (May 56.0). Employment, output and new orders all rose, but stretched supply chains resulted in a sharp rise in costs. Read more: https://t.co/3egNxcuEQj pic.twitter.com/BVwvBW9gie

5.55pm BST

UK factories had a strong June, data released this morning showed, with output, new orders and employment growing at close to the fastest pace in the last 30 years.

But industry was still beset by supply-chain and distribution difficulties, as suppliers continue to struggle to meet demand.

Growth in the UK’s manufacturing sector remained robust in June, with the #PMI at 63.9. Expansions in new orders and output were central to the uptick. However, input costs and selling prices rose at record rates amid supply disruption. Read more: https://t.co/qKybRTD5aZ pic.twitter.com/XTwlcNhVkj

Factory costs jumped at a record rate in June, fuelling concerns that goods made in Britain will soar in price in the second half of the year.

Manufacturers paid higher prices for essential components and raw materials than in April and May, when there were also record increases, according to the IHS Markit monthly survey of the industry.

5.42pm BST

Laith Khalaf, financial analyst at AJ Bell, has spotted a flaw in the government’s new ‘Green Savings Bond’ plan.

If the Treasury offers an attractive interest rate to woo consumers to buy the bond, it’ll be more expensive than simply selling gilts (government bonds), because sovereign bond yields are very low in historic terms. That’s not good news for the taxpayer.

“The Green Savings Bond will run on a three year term, over which period the government can currently borrow money at just 0.2% per annum. The best three year bond currently available on the market pays 1.3% a year, so if the Treasury wants the product to be a market leader, at the moment it would need to offer at least this level of interest.

On the £15bn of funding envisaged, that would mean a cost of £165 million to the taxpayer each year above simply tapping up the gilt market. Even at the best of times that would seem like a sizeable sum to be saddling the Exchequer with, and clearly government finances are under extreme pressure after the cost of the pandemic response.

5.35pm BST

Thomas Wright, a senior fellow at Washington DC’s Brookings Institution, has analysed Rishi Sunak’s call for the UK to bolster its ties with China, and concluded it feels ‘very lightweight and a ‘return to the past’:

A quick thread on what is problematic in the UK Chancellor, Rishi Sunak’s, speech on a post Brexit financial services with respect to China. The speech is available at https://t.co/QtaeVtX9NF

The gist of the speech is that because an agreement with the EU is unlikely the UK will have to deepen its financial ties to other economies, including China, and cut EU red tape. I’ll let others deal with the deregulation piece of that but on China, it is v problematic.

The chancellor starts out by constructing the strawiest of straw men, saying “Too often, the debate on China lacks nuance. Some people on both sides argue either that we should sever all ties or focus solely on commercial opportunities at the expense of our values.”

This is the language of someone who is not actually interested in engaging the debate. Hardly anyone outside of the likes of Navarro are arguing for severing all ties. Sunak goes on to say that we can stand up on values and engage. In theory yes but….

….in practice Beijing has demonstrated that it has a very low tolerance for any criticism. Look at how it escalated the sanctions row with the EU and UK earlier this year. In any event, the real question here is not whether the City will do business in China. It already is.

And as @b_judah has pointed out US banks are also deepening their involvement in China, although I would note that policymakers are hardly pleased about this and they are not trying to facilitate it.

The Q is as a matter of trade & foreign policy, will the UK govt try to negotiate more favorable terms with Beijing and what are the terms. It’s not just about “values”. It’s about the rule of law (e.g. Jack Ma), dual use technologies, & investment in critical infrastructure.

At a minimum he should have acknowledged this “nuance”. It all felt very lightweight and a return to the past. China now knows that a) the UK is split on China, and b) it feels like it needs a deal because of Brexit. That’s not a good place from which to start a negotiation.

5.03pm BST

London’s stock market has posted its biggest daily rise in almost two months.

The FTSE 100 has closed nearly 88 points higher at 7,125 points, up 1.25% today – the best session since 5th May.

4.50pm BST

Sterling has hit its lowest level since mid-April against the US dollar today.

The pound has fallen half a cent to $1.377, its lowest in almost 11 weeks, after Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey told Mansion House that it was important not to overreact to a rise in inflation, as it was likely to be temporary.

4.27pm BST

Reuters’ Huw Jones has written an excellent factbox on the UK’s proposed shake-up of to City’s capital markets by amending various rules now it has left the EU (some of which I covered before, but this is a comprehensive list).

The ministry said there is a compelling case to amend insurance capital rules known as Solvency II.

It said there is a strong case to change the “risk margin” and “matching adjustment” rules, and to cut the burden of how insurers calculate their core solvency capital requirement.

The ministry set out proposals to reform securities trading rules known as MiFID II, such as a more flexible definition for a trading venue to remove barriers to entry as trading technology advances.

To encourage more smaller companies with a market capitalisation of below 50 million pounds to list, a new category of trading venue with lighter regulatory requirements will be explored.

Currently, regulators impose limits on how much of a commodity any single market participant can hold to avoid price manipulation.

The government is proposing revoking the requirement for position limits to be applied to all exchange traded contracts, and to transfer the setting of position controls from the Financial Conduct Authority to trading venues.

The ministry wants a “consolidated tape” single feed of all bond prices across trading venues to give investors a snapshot of markets, but prefers a market-led solution to a mandatory tape although both options are being looked at. It is seeking views on potential changes to the law to allow a tape to be created.

The ministry proposes an overhaul of the information document published by companies wanting to list, to encourage more floats by simplifying the rules and cutting duplication.

It proposes that the two regulatory issues, admissions of securities to stock markets and public offer rules, are dealt with separately in future.

4.15pm BST

The Treasury has also launched a consultation on a review of the UK’s wholesale markets regime, which include plans to diverge from some of the European Union’s landmark financial market regulations.

The consultation argues that some of the EU’s MiFID II regulations impose excessive administrative burdens on City firms, which (it argues) are no longer needed after Brexit.

With the development of the EU’s single market, much of our regulatory approach to capital markets was set in Brussels.

Now that we have left the EU, we can tailor our rules more closely to the unique circumstances of the UK, improve standards and make regulation more proportionate.

Rules such as the share trading obligation, which seek to restrict access to global stock markets, run exactly counter to our principles of openness and competition.

The double volume cap was well-intentioned but has no basis in evidence. We need to tackle failures in market data provision to make it available to all. Many rules around transparency and disclosure serve to reduce price formation while needlessly raising costs.

The government is therefore proposing to significantly reform the transparency regime for fixed income and derivatives markets. These reforms are aimed at making sure only standardised and liquid instruments have to comply with all transparency requirements, and are intended to support price formation and competitive markets.

3.32pm BST

The government’s “new chapter for financial services” shows that the UK is looking to build closer ties with major emerging economies.

It says the UK will:

Deepen our financial services relationships with the largest emerging markets, including China, India and Brazil. The UK has secured a range of positive liberalising measures and continues to work closely with these markets, including on green finance, fintech, capital markets, insurance and pension reforms. This will ensure UK-based firms are best-placed to take advantage of new opportunities.

The UK has already set best practice in the agreements concluded with Japan and the EEA European Free Trade Association countries. The government will build on this through ongoing negotiations with the US, Australia and New Zealand, accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, and future negotiations with India and other countries.

2.59pm BST

The failure to (yet) agree a UK-EU financial services equivalence deal will disappoint, although certainly not shock, the City — at a time when Europe is pressing firms to shift more trading and senior deal makers to EU locations.

The crux of the issue is that UK financial services firms lost their passporting rights when the Brexit transition period concluded at the end of 2020. Passporting was extremely valuable to the City.

The US is already our biggest market, with the UK exporting $28bn of financial services every year.

Our ambition is to deepen regulatory cooperation even further, with our closest ally.

Sunak insists UK must bolster China ties as access to EU markets declines https://t.co/a8qQMHF8iw

1.40pm BST

Rishi Sunak has now appeared on Bloomberg TV, and further indicated that talks with the EU over a financial equivalence deal for the City have stalled (as flagged earlier).

Q: You say you plan to use the Brexit freedoms the UK has now secured in full. Have you given up on the idea of achieving equivalence for UK financial services – has that ship sailed?

“We always going to be constructive in that relationship and remain available to answer any questions that they might have about that process, which we completed some time ago.”

We speak exclusively to U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak on financial services, green finance, Brexit, and back-to-the-office https://t.co/TDDZZFQaxi pic.twitter.com/Qa4Ycfxc5B

Where do Paris’s own “pull” factors fit into this post-Brexit, post-Covid world?

Its fans tick off a list that’s well-known: A set of tax breaks and reforms rolled out by the Macron administration to make hiring more attractive, a talent pool trained in elite engineering schools and the mix of infrastructure, culture and schools that global cities need to attract high-flyers. JPMorgan isn’t alone: Bank of America Corp. has moved 400 employees to Paris since Brexit.

12.06pm BST

Rishi Sunak also had good news for UK bankers – he doesn’t intend to whack up taxes on their profits.

He told Mansion House that:

I announced at Budget that we’d review the Bank Surcharge.

Our ongoing conversations have only reinforced my view that the combined tax rate on UK banking profits should not increase significantly from its current level.

At a time when so many households and small businesses have struggled, banks have continued to profit, pocketing huge amounts from the public purse through the government’s guaranteed loan schemes.

There is no reason why they should be exempt from paying a fairer share of tax on these profits.”

We’re issuing the UK’s debut sovereign green bond in September, with the framework published yesterday committing us to the most ambitious approach of any major sovereign.

The UK’s new Green Savings Bonds will let you invest in projects that tackle climate change, improve biodiversity and create green jobs.

During today’s #MansionHouse speech, I talked about how our Green Financing Framework will set out the types of ventures the bonds will fund. pic.twitter.com/6c1c41cq9L

11.56am BST

Chancellor confirms that UK has given up trying to secure greater access to EU markets for financial services firms.

City of London has been largely cut off since Brexit completed at end of last year.

Sunak says deal on equivalence “has not happened”.

11.33am BST

Rishi Sunak also told the Mansion House that the UK needs to stay alert to China’s ‘increasing international influence’ — while also pointing to the economic opportunities on offer.

Too often, the chancellor argues, the debate on China “lacks nuance”:

Some people on both sides argue either that we should sever all ties or focus solely on commercial opportunities at the expense of our values.

Neither position adequately reflects the reality of our relationship with a vast, complex country, with a long history.

…pursue with confidence an economic relationship with China in a safe, mutually beneficial way without compromising our values or security.

11.19am BST

Chancellor very punchy on new post Brexit future for financial services

UK/EU deal: “This has not happened”

So will now significantly diverge & seek closer links with emerging economies

“We now have the freedom to do things differently & better & we intend to use it fully”

11.15am BST

Here’s Bloomberg’s take:

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak suggested he has given up on securing the financial services equivalence agreements he had been seeking with the European Union and will now move on and make the most of the U.K.’s freedom to set its own rules.

Talks on establishing equivalence for financial regulation between London and Brussels have stalled, chancellor Rishi Sunak has said, in one of the UK government’s most damning comment on the negotiations yet.

While the chancellor left the door open for a possible future deal, saying that the UK did not plan to undercut the EU’s rules, which would make equivalence impossible, he used a speech on 1 July to say that the UK was pushing ahead “as a sovereign jurisdiction with our own priorities”.

11.09am BST

The UK’s attempt to reach a financial services equivalence agreement with the European Union has “not happened”, Rishi Sunak tells financial leaders in his Mansion House speech.

The comments suggest that the talks to achieve an “equivalence” arrangement between the UK and the EU — where the two sides recognise each others’ financial rules as equivalent to their own — have stalled.

As I said in parliament in November, our ambition has been to reach a comprehensive set of mutual decisions on financial services equivalence.

That has not happened. Now we are moving forward. Continuing to cooperate on questions of global finances, but each as a sovereign jurisdiction with our own priorities.

JUST IN: Chancellor Rishi Sunak suggests he has given up on securing financial services equivalence with the EU, emphasizing the U.K.’s freedom to set its own rules after Brexit https://t.co/Bx8Bxi5gaX

It is also entirely within international norms for like-minded jurisdictions to use each other’s market infrastructure.

I see no reason of substance why the UK cannot or should not continue to provide clearing services for countries in the EU and around the world.

Chancellor at Mansion House: “I see no reason of substance why the UK should not continue to provide clearing services for countries in the EU” – says UK’s principles and values on regulation/ rule of law should reassure

Getting some or all of euro clearing to shift from London would be a major coup for the EU in the Brexit turf war over financial services. But unlike EU share-trading, much of which jumped to Amsterdam at the start of the year, or even derivatives-trading, the Commission can’t just flip a switch and demand that the clearing business moves over.

The sheer volume alone would make that difficult. LCH manages some €46 trillion of notional outstanding euro-denominated interest-rate swaps — equivalent to more than triple the size of the EU’s economy.

10.29am BST

Rishi Sunak says the UK will follow five principles in its economic and financial diplomacy, now it has left the European Union.

10.11am BST

In his Mansion House speech, Rishi Sunak says Britain’s financial sector has been a lifeline in the pandemic.

They provided millions of mortgage holidays, billions of pounds of business loans, and frontline staff kept thousands of branches open in the most difficult of circumstances.

“Financial services don’t just generate prosperity here at home. They give us the economic power to project our values on the global stage.

In the past, it was taken as a given that international cooperation created a fairer and more just world. Support for that view has fragmented.

This is not irreversible.

Those who believe in international collaboration must do more to explain why it matters, and the benefits it brings.

9.52am BST

Chancellor Rishi Sunak then take the stage at the Mansion House, outlining his new vision for UK financial services.

That vision, the Treasury say, is shaped around four key themes:

9.38am BST

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey then insists that the rise in inflation will be temporary – insisting that it’s important not to ‘overreach’ to temporary strong growth and inflation.

The economy is bouncing back rapidly, which is good news. With that has come a rise in inflation, and we expect that rise to continue in the near term as we go through the rest of this year, such that CPI inflation is expected to pick up further above the target, owing primarily to developments in energy and other commodity prices.

I have set out the reasons why we expect this rise in inflation to be a temporary feature of the bounce-back. The reasons for taking this view are well-founded, it is not a vain hope or a matter of whistling in the wind. It is important not to over-react to temporarily strong growth and inflation, to ensure that the recovery is not undermined by a premature tightening in monetary conditions. But it is also important that we watch the outlook for inflation very carefully, which of course we do at all times, particularly for signs of more persistent pressure and for a move of medium term inflation expectations to a higher level.

9.33am BST

Andrew Bailey then turns to inflation, saying there are plenty of stories of supply chain constraints on commodities and transport bottlenecks, much of which ought to be temporary.

And he points to the Beckhams as a (curious) example of how price pressures aren’t universal across the economy.

CPI inflation rose to 2.1% in May, just above the MPC’s target and above where we thought it would be in the MPC’s May forecast. Goods prices were strong, while consumer food prices ticked down slightly, and the pattern for services prices was very mixed.

For instance, hairdressing and personal grooming inflation was strong in particular, at an annual rate of 8%, and saw a 29 year high. Pent-up demand, essential need, or recreating the early 1990s David Beckham look, I leave that to others to judge. Further up the supply chain, food input prices were up, and producer input inflation was around a 10-year high. However these price rises are certainly not universal, and for balance I should note that we also learned last week that Victoria Beckham is reducing the average selling price of her dresses by almost 40%.

Unexpectedly few references to the football in the Governor’s speech…. but he does cite the competing inflationary impact of the Beckham family … a 29 year high in personal grooming inflation of 8%, though Victoria Beckham is cutting the avg price of her dresses by 40% pic.twitter.com/nZEcaRu7ng

9.30am BST

Andrew Bailey, governor of the Bank of England, is giving the annual Mansion House speech now (you can watch it here).

Bailey begins by warning that, despite the recent recovery, the UK economy is still 5% smaller than before the pandemic – following last year’s slump.

Conventional is not a word I have used about the performance of the economy in the last sixteen months. Last calendar year, UK GDP declined by an annual growth rate of 9¾%, and based on our last forecast in early May we expect it to grow by 7¼% this year. It’s more meaningful to express the level of activity relative to the end of 2019 (pre-Covid). At the end of last year, the gap was 7¼%, on the latest numbers to end April it’s around 5%, and we expect the gap to be closed by the end of this year. Although that would still represent two years of lost growth, relative to the expected path of activity prior to the pandemic.

The good news is that the economy is only around 5% smaller than it was eighteen months ago – and in view of what we have experienced, that is good news – and the gap is closing quite rapidly. But let’s pause for a moment on the good news that the economy is only 5% smaller. In any conventional time, even in the depths of a recession, that would scarcely qualify as good news.

First, it is in the nature of the shock – Covid itself does not destroy economic capacity over the longer term in the same way as a war, although of course the number of lives lost has been tragic.

Second, the evidence here and in other countries indicates that the economic impact of Covid has attenuated with each successive wave – we are all by nature adaptive in our behaviour. For that reason, both in the UK and in a number of other countries, GDP releases during more recent periods of restrictions have typically surprised to the upside, relative to our expectations based on the effect of previous lockdowns.

9.12am BST

Kwasi Kwarteng, secretary of state for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, has said the Nissan announcement is a really positive story – but won’t reveal how much financial support the government is providing.

Speaking on the Today programme this morning, he was asked:

We’ve committed some measure of support.

But the billion pounds that they’ve giving far outweighs, and is far in excess, of the amount of support that we provided.

“This is a really positive story for the UK.”

Nissan has confirmed plans for a £1bn ‘gigafactory’ in Sunderland which is set to create more than 1,600 jobs.

Business Minister @KwasiKwarteng tells #KayBurley he’s “delighted” by the investment.

More https://t.co/7h8kxtr0yP pic.twitter.com/3d1OeAhCgc

Only this week, the SMMT said that the Government was falling behind our competitors and the Faraday Institution estimates we need seven gigafactories by 2040.

“That’s why Labour has said we would increase government investment from £400 million to up to £1.5 billion, part-financing three additional gigafactories by 2025.

8.42am BST

The Unite union is also warning that Britain needs more electric battery factories – and risks falling behind other countries without more investment.

Steve Turner, Unite assistant general secretary for manufacturing, says the “fantastic first” gigafactory announced in Sunderland must not be the last – at least six more are needed.

We need at least another six giga-factories to secure the UK’s future as a green auto manufacturer, with investment in the domestic manufacture of the high value components all urgently needed to successfully transition this industry and consumers away from the combustion engine.

“So, I urge the government not to rest on its laurels. Ministers must say more today about when these sites will be forthcoming.

“Across the world a green manufacturing revolution is underway. Businesses and investors are scouring the planet looking for opportunities to install green infrastructure and technology at pace and on a huge scale, and they will go where they can see a committed government partner.

“Unfortunately, the employers I deal with every day are tearing their hair out with frustration at the UK government’s half-baked, uncoordinated approach to supporting green manufacturing. So I say to ministers celebrating today, you have to step up – no more easy soundbites. Miss this moment to deliver on green jobs and it will not come around again.

8.34am BST

Here’s more from Nissan president and chief executive Makoto Uchida on today’s announcement:

“This project comes as part of Nissan’s pioneering efforts to achieve carbon neutrality throughout the entire lifecycle of our products.

“Our comprehensive approach includes not only the development and production of EVs, but also the use of on-board batteries as energy storage and their reuse for secondary purposes.

8.23am BST

The UK car industry has welcomed Nissan’s move, but warned that the UK will need more gigafactories to hit its electric car targets.

Mike Hawes, the chief executive of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, said:

“Today’s announcement of new investment into battery production in Sunderland is great news for the sector, the region and all those employed locally. It also demonstrates the UK automotive industry’s commitment to net zero and that the transition to these new electrified vehicles can be “made In Britain”.

If we are to build one million electric vehicles by 2030, however, we need more such commitments, with at least 60 GWh of gigafactory capacity in this country by the end of the decade.

8.04am BST

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of the world economy, the financial markets, the eurozone and business.

Japanese car giant Nissan has unveiled plans for the UK’s first “gigafactory” producing batteries for electric vehicles, in a £1bn investment plan that secures the future of its Sunderland car plant.

1,650 new jobs, £1bn investment, another #gigafactory in the #Northeast and a new #EV. Huge news confirmed for the #NorthEast the home of the UKs EV & battery sectors – Nissan announces major UK electric car expansionhttps://t.co/sFtW96x5Nm

“Our announcement comes out of lengthy discussions, and will accelerate our efforts in Europe to achieve carbon neutrality. The experience and know-how gained through the project will be shared globally.”

“Nissan’s announcement to build its new-generation all-electric vehicle in Sunderland, alongside a new gigafactory from Envision AESC, is a major vote of confidence in the UK and our highly-skilled workers in the North East.

“This is a pivotal moment in our electric vehicle revolution and securing its future for decades to come.”

New: @Nissan and Envison announce £1bn investment in new all-electric vehicle and 9GWh battery gigafactory at Sunderland, promising 1,500 new jobs and 4,500 more in supply chain pic.twitter.com/fXK6sjAVhU

The chancellor is expected to use his first speech to City financiers at the annual Mansion House address to announce details of a £15bn UK programme of government bond issuance, with the proceeds being spent on environmentally friendly projects.

Aiming to turn Britain into a world leader for low-carbon financial services, Sunak will also launch a separate green savings bond for UK consumers, which he will say is to be used to help fund infrastructure schemes and create more green jobs across the UK.

The US retailer said the stores would close between late August and the end of September this year but it would continue to operate its online store in the UK and Ireland. Gap did not confirm the number of jobs that would go but is estimated to have employed at least 20 people in each outlet.

The decision is the result of a strategic review of the San Francisco-based firm’s European operations that began in October last year. Gap said earlier this month that it would close just 19 stores in the UK and Ireland as they came to the end of their lease.

European Opening Calls:#FTSE 7068 +0.44%#DAX 15609 +0.50%#CAC 6548 +0.62%#AEX 734 +0.65%#MIB 25244 +0.57%#IBEX 8864 +0.49%#OMX 2274 +0.50%#STOXX 4089 +0.60%#IGOpeningCall

Read full original article »

RMS Recruitment & HR Specialists

Specialist Automotive and Engineering Recruitment Services

Rishi Sunak says UK ‘moving forward’ on own rules for City after EU talks stall – as it happened