Wednesday 27 June 2018

Uber has been granted a short-term licence to operate in London
after Chief Magistrate Emma Arbuthnot said the firm was now
considered “fit and proper”. However, the taxi app, which had been
seeking a five-year licence after it was refused by Transport for
London last year, has been put on probation for 15 months. It was
also ordered to pay TfL’s legal costs of £425,000.

The chief of the Financial Conduct Authority
says claims from European officials that London banks are not ready
for a hard Brexit are “considerably wide of the mark”. Andrew
Bailey also threw shade at the decision of European regulators not
to give UK banks operating in Europe the assurances needed to
continue operating as normal, saying: “The idea that we leave firms
to deal with transitional risk is wrong.”

Sales of “wonky” fruit and vegetables have
helped Morrisons enjoy £500m of extra sales in recent weeks. Gin
was also a big player in the rise, with one in every £13 of the
extra spending on groceries going on the spirit, according to new
data from research group Kantar. Soft drinks and hay fever remedies
have also sold well, thanks to the warm weather.

The Bank of England has been criticised by
MPs after two of its economic advisers splashed almost £400,000 on
travel expenses in two-and-a-half years. The Treasury committee
accused Donald Kohn and Anil Kashyap of running up a “staggering”
bill, which included more than £11,000 on just one flight. Mark
Carney’s Bank of England is partly funded by taxpayers.

Supplies of some beers and soft drinks are
being rationed by the country’s largest wholesaler because of the
shortage of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas. Booker said: “Due to the
international shortage of CO2, we are experiencing some supply
issues on soft drinks and beer.” Among the drink companies affected
are Heineken and Coca-Cola Great Britain. Shutdowns for maintenance
at plants which produce food grade CO2 are being blamed.

“When you talk about an expected bill of £14bn sterling, it’s a
perverse amount of money. It’s ridiculous. It’s
outrageous.” Willie Walsh, chief executive of British Airway’s
parent company, International Airlines Group, takes aim at the
Heathrow expansion budget.

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