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1. BBC Panorama examines ?no-deal? preparation
2. Labour makes leasehold reform proposals
3. One fifth of sole traders close within a year of launch
The proportion of sole trader businesses that close within a year of launching, according to a report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The BBC last night aired a Panorama programme (BBC iPlayer, 18:15) examining British businesses? preparedness for a potential ?no-deal? withdrawal from the UK on 31 October.
Speaking to the programme, Conor Lawlor, UK Finance's Director of International and Brexit Policy, said that both regulators and the private sector had taken all the available steps to mitigate the impact of a ?no-deal? withdrawal, but that such a scenario would nevertheless be disruptive for firms in the banking and finance sector, as well as their clients.
BBC News (online only) reports that three quarters of civil servants shifted to Brexit preparation duties before the original 29 March deadline have since been stood down, but that many are expected to return to Brexit duties as the UK government steps up its preparations for a potentially disruptive withdrawal on 31 October.
Meanwhile, the Conservative MP Dominic Grieve has tabled an amendment to a bill relating to the Northern Ireland executive, aimed at preventing a future government from proroguing (effectively suspending) Parliament in the lead-up to 31 October (Bloomberg News, online only). The amendment, if successful, would compel the government to provide fortnightly updates to the House of Commons, effectively ensuring that the government could not prorogue parliament for any significant length of time.
Earlier this year, UK Finance launched its Let's Talk Business campaign, which provides guidance to help small businesses prepare for Brexit and consider any financing needs.
The Times (£, p41) reports on the Labour Party announcement that it would legislate to ban the sale of all new leasehold houses and flats. The proposals would give owners of the four million homes in England that are owned on a leasehold basis the opportunity to buy the freehold of their home for one per cent of the value of the property. The policy would also introduce stricter controls on fees and contract terms, as well as a cap on ground rents for all houses and flats of 0.1 per cent of the property's value.
Labour's Shadow Housing Secretary John Healey said that his team would shortly launch a consultation on the proposals (The Guardian, online only).
A report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies has found that one fifth of small businesses started by 'sole traders? close within a year, and that 60 per cent fail within six years. The report, financed by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), found that between 2014 and 2015 the number of sole traders grew by almost 70,000 - accounting for a significant proportion of the growth of employment in that period - but this was largely the result of high ?churn? with 650,000 businesses starting up and 580,000 closing (The Guardian, p32).
Ahead of UK Finance's Later Life Lending Conference on Thursday, David Dalton-Brown, CEO, TISA, blogs on thinking ahead and helping future generations.
The charity Stepchange says that nearly one in five people who have taken out a high interest rate, sub-prime credit card were unemployed when their card was issued (The Times, £, p36).
Sterling fell this morning to levels last regularly traded at more than two years ago, amid uncertainty surrounding growth in the UK economy and the implications for monetary policy (Financial Times, online only).
Reuters (online only) reports that the United States and China are set to relaunch trade talks this week following a two-month hiatus and a year after their 'trade war?.
Nils Pratley, Finance Editor at The Guardian (p32), argues that the £183 million fine levied on IAG for a data breach which exposed the personal data of British Airways 500,000 customers shows that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has given the UK's data regulator - the Information Commissioner's Office - 'teeth?. Pratley points out that fraud enabled by data breaches has a wider societal cost, and that internet companies - including the tech and social media giants - must take notice
Bloomberg (online only) columnist Mark Gilbert argues that some firms do not have an adequate appreciation of the importance of preparing for the transition from the LIBOR benchmark to its proposed replacement, SONIA. Gilbert recognises the logistical challenge of rounding up the disparate investors in securities based on LIBOR, adding that to get them to agree to change the reference benchmark is ?daunting?.
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