The UK is in danger of “crashing out” of 40 trade agreements across five continents under a no-deal Brexit, says the CBI. The business group warned that many firms did not know relationships with customers across the globe were at risk from a no-deal. Meanwhile, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research says Britain will avoid recession in a no-deal Brexit.
The head of Apple’s retail division is unexpectedly stepping down after five years in the role. Angela Ahrendts, the former chief executive of Burberry, had been hotly tipped to succeed Tim Cook as the next chief executive of the company. She had been responsible for redesigning Apple stores around the world as “town squares”.
The UK economy "is at risk of stalling or worse”, says the IHS. According to the information provider, the UK's service sector stagnated last month, with new orders falling for the first time in two-and-a-half years. Brexit uncertainty and a wider slowdown in the global economy are being blamed for the trend.
Ladbrokes has told shop staff to sign up as many gamblers as possible to online accounts if they want to avoid being among 5,000 employees it intends to make redundant. According to letters published in The Guardian, the bookmaker will close up to 1,000 of its 3,500 shops over the next 18 to 24 months. Labour MP and gambling campaigner Carolyn Harris said she is “appalled”.
HMV has been rescued from collapse by Canadian music entrepreneur Doug Putman, but 27 stores in prime locations have closed. Among the closures are the iconic site of its first store on Oxford Street. The Guardian says Putman is a “self-proclaimed lover of vinyl records” who is “adamant” that bricks-and-mortar music stores are still commercially viable in the digital age.
“The government should impose a tobacco industry levy and consider a surcharge on corporation tax or other mechanisms to help fund services to help smokers quit.” George Butterworth, Cancer Research UK’s policy manager on claims that big tobacco companies are paying a “pitiful” amount of corporation tax.
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