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".
Having more female executives correlated with better performance at companies, new research finds
Link identified with bigger share price gains, stronger revenue growth and higher profitsThe collapse of Thomas Cook last month, which resulted in thousands of redundancies, helped to drive customers to the Jet2 leisure travel business, it said.
“Two missiles hit the Iran-owned ship near the Jeddah port city of Saudi Arabia,” state television reported.
The semi-official ISNA news agency said the blast had caused extensive damage.
“Experts believe it was a terrorist attack,” the agency reported, adding that oil was spilling out into the sea.
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Liquid spilling into Red Sea as vessel burns, state media says
"Investors will be keeping an eye on Brussels this morning to get Barnier’s view on recent developments – should they show signs of alignment with the Taoiseach, we could see it manifest itself in further sterling strength.”
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.
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.
Hazy trade outlook and jumpy pound seen as top barriers to UK exports
Almost half of internationally active UK firms polled cite lack of clarity on Brexit as obstacle to exportSkilled 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.
Government's post-Brexit migration curbs will put economy in parts of UK 'at risk'
Three quarters of EU workers in Bristol will be inelligible to work in UK, under proposalsA 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."
