Pound rises on hopes Brexit deal can be reached after Brexit deal talks intensify - as it happened
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Renewed hopes that the government can reach a Brexit deal sent the pound soaring on Friday, adding to strong gains on Thursday.
The pound broke past $1.26 after EU Council president Donald Tusk said he had heard "optimistic messages" that a Brexit deal can be struck.
Markets rose across Europe are up this morning as Donald Trump prepares to meet Chinese officials for trade talks. The US president said that negotiations were going "very well".
Fresh calls for apprenticeship changes
(Press Association) The number of businesses in London employing an apprentice has fallen over the past year, a study suggests, sparking fresh calls for the levy system to be reformed.
Almost nine out of 10 of 1,000 businessmen and women surveyed said they were not employing apprentices.
The London Chamber of Commerce and London Councils said their research showed the need for a fully devolved apprenticeship service for the capital.
Two years on from the introduction of the apprenticeship levy, only 13 per cent of businesses in the capital said they currently employ apprentices, down from 17 per cent in 2018, according to the report.
Here's what Donald Tusk said on Brexit this morning:
Let me conclude with Brexit. Prime Minister Johnson promised the EU to come forward with a solution that would work for all.
A solution that would not only satisfy the hardcore Brexiteers, but also solve our well-known and legitimate objectives: to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland, to protect the Good Friday Agreement and to ensure the integrity of the Single Market.
Unfortunately, we are still in a situation in which the UK has not come forward with a workable, realistic proposal.
A week ago I told Prime Minister Johnson that if there was no such proposal by today, I would announce publicly that there are no more chances – because of objective reasons - for a deal during the incoming European Council.
However, yesterday when the Irish Taoiseach and the UK Prime Minister met they both saw - for the first time - a pathway to a deal. I have received promising signals from the Taoiseach that a deal is still possible. Technical talks are taking place in Brussels as we speak. Of course, there is no guarantee of success and the time is practically up. But even the slightest chance must be used. A no deal Brexit will never be the choice of the EU.
Renault names Clotide Delbos as chief executive
Renault has announced that Clotide Delobos will take over as interim chief executive after Thierry Bollore was ousted by the board this morning.
Ms Delobos will step up from her role as chief financial officer into the top job until a permanent appointment is made.
The move will be seen as a sign that the car maker is seeking to make a clean break with the Carlos Ghosn era.
Bollore was Ghon's second in command before taking the reins when the former boss was arrested and later sacked.
Questions about Brexit, tariffs and jumpy pound top barriers to UK exports
Uncertainties around Brexit and future tariffs as well as the volatile pound are holding back British exports, according to a survey that undermines the government’s hopes for a free-trade “Global Britain”.
Almost half of the internationally active UK businesses polled cited the lack of clarity on the timing and nature of Brexit as a barrier to export, according to the survey by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) and Bibby Financial Services. Thirty five per cent mentioned concerns about tariffs, while the jumpy exchange rate was a deterrent for 33 per cent of respondents.
Only 7 per cent of firms said they do not face any obstacles.
Fashion shares plunge after Hugo Boss profit warning
A profit warning from Hugo Boss has sent shares across the fashion sector tumbling today.
The German firm lowered its guidance, citing weak sales to tourists in the US and Asia. Increasingly violent anti-China protests in Hong Kong have caused visits from wealthy visitors to plunge.
Shares in Hugo Boss plummeted 13 per cent this morning, prompting fears that luxury clothes makers may be in for a tough time.
Ted Baker is down 7 per cent and Burberry down 4 per cent.
Louis Vuitton owner LVMH said yesterday that sales in Hong Kong fell 40 per cent in August and September
'Benign' Brexit deal tipped to send pound soaring to $1.35
Dean Turner, an economist at UBS Wealth Management sees a lot of upside for the pound:
"An extension followed by a call for a UK General Election is still the most likely outcome, in our view, and we would expect to see sterling trade between 1.25-1/29 against the US Dollar. However the possibility of a deal has undoubtedly increased, which could further prolong sterling’s rally. In our view, a benign deal could see GBP-USD rallying to 1.35 and EUR-GBP dropping into the low 0.80s.
"Clarity will be key, as we await further details on what the Prime Minister has agreed (if anything) and whether it stands a fighting chance of getting through Parliament."
Government's post-Brexit migration curbs will put economy in parts of UK 'at risk'
Plans to restrict immigration after Brexit risk causing serious damage to local economies in the UK, according to a new report that focuses on the example of England’s south-west.
Skilled migration will be significantly reduced under proposals in the government’s 2018 Immigration White Paper, leaving businesses in Bristol and the surrounding area struggling to recruit essential staff for the region’s thriving creative and technology firm, the report found.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a think tank, used the city as a case study for the impact of the proposed immigration curbs.
More positive noises coming from the government on Brexit this morning.
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier welcomed a "constructive meeting" in Brussels.
A Government spokesman said: "Steve Barclay had a constructive meeting with Michel Barnier this morning.
"Michel Barnier will brief ambassadors from the EU27 this afternoon."
(Press Association) Apple boss Tim Cook has defended the company's decision to remove a Hong Kong mapping app from its online store.
In an internal memo to Apple staff which subsequently appeared online, the chief executive reiterated Apple's stance that the HKmap.live app was taken down because it was being used in a manner that could threaten public safety.
The app, which has been used by activists and others in Hong Kong during the ongoing protests, uses crowd-sourcing data to allow users to report police locations, use of tear gas and other details that are added to a regularly updated map.
On Thursday, human rights campaigners accused Apple of caving in to political pressure from China and enabling state censorship by removing the app.
In his memo, Mr Cook echoed an earlier Apple statement which said the company received reports which alleged that the app was being used to target individual police officers and that it violated Apple's guidelines as well as "local laws".
"The app in question allowed for the crowdsourced reporting and mapping of police checkpoints, protest hot spots, and other information," Mr Cook said.
"On its own, this information is benign. However, over the past several days we received credible information, from the Hong Kong Cybersecurity and Technology Crime Bureau, as well as from users in Hong Kong, that the app was being used maliciously to target individual officers for violence and to victimise individuals and property where no police are present.
"This use put the app in violation of Hong Kong law. Similarly, widespread abuse clearly violates our App Store guidelines barring personal harm."
Pound surges against dollar and euro as EU agrees to intensified Brexit talks
The pound surged against the dollar and the euro on Friday as hopes grew that a Brexit deal can be done before the imminent deadline.
Sterling jumped 1.8 per cent against the dollar to $1.267 and 1.5 per cent against the euro to €1.146.
The gains eclipsed those made yesterday, which resulted in the pound’s best daily rise since March.
Friday’s surge came after British and EU negotiators agreed to intensify Brexit talks, in a major boost for Boris Johnson's hopes of getting a deal.
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