BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY TRI BEFORE YOU BUY PEBBLE POWER CAN THE US OPEN WE REVIEW MORGAN’S RETURN TO FORM THREE WHEELER P23 THIS WEEK? P26 TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019 ISSUE 3,389 CITYAM.COM FREE ...AS PM TAKES QUANTUM LEAP May pledges backing for Britain’s RIVALS LINE tech sector at Stratford summit UP TO SLAM OWENBORIS BENNETT PLAN beginnings as the adopted son of an plan, arguing that as PM he would @owenjbennett Aberdeen fish processor. He also only cut taxes “when we can afford it”. openly mocked his former Cabinet col- Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt’s lead- THE GLOVES came off in the Conserva- league’s decision to quit the 2016 race. ership bid received a boost when he tive leadership battle yesterday as Boris Gove said: “If I get through, as I’m secured the backing of fellow Cabinet Johnson’s rivals took aim at his tax- sure I will actually, to the final two ministers Amber Rudd and Penny Mor- cutting plans, while Michael Gove against Mr Johnson, this is what I will daunt. Mordaunt’s support is seen as launched a personal attack on the say to him: ‘Mr Johnson, whatever you particularly significant as the defence frontrunner. do don’t pull out. I know you have be- secretary was a prominent backer of The former foreign secretary and fore and I know you may not believe in Leave during the EU referendum, London mayor pledged to raise the your heart that you can do it, but the whereas Hunt lobbied for Remain. higher rate income tax threshold to Conservative party membership de- One leadership hopeful unable to £80,000, benefitting 3m people. serve a choice’.” rustle up enough supporters was Environment secretary Gove – who Dominic Raab and Jeremy Hunt also ex-universities minister Sam Gyimah. scuppered Johnson’s leadership bid in attacked Johnson’s tax cut plan, as did He pulled out of the race as the dead- 2016 by withdrawing his support at health secretary Matt Hancock, during line for nominations closed at 5pm, the eleventh hour – used his campaign a flurry of leadership campaign claiming “there has not been enough EMILY NICOLLE London’s Here East startup campus in launch to attack Johnson’s plan. launches in Westminster yesterday. time to build sufficient support” for @emilyjnicolle Stratford, May said she was “backing “One thing I will never do as prime Raab, the former Brexit secretary, ar- his campaign – which included an- Britain for the long-term” despite her minister is to use our tax and benefits gued the policy would be difficult to other referendum on Brexit. THERESA MAY took to the stage for upcoming departure. system to give the already-wealthy an- sell in Labour marginal seats, saying: Ten contenders secured the required one of her last addresses as Prime The PM highlighted government other tax cut,” he said. “I'd much rather be going there saying backing of eight MPs each to reach the Minister yesterday, pushing a funding into quantum research, Gove, who has been dogged by reve- that I’m going to cut the taxes of the first ballot: Michael Gove, Boris John- message of cooperation between alongside the white papers on lations he took cocaine on several oc- lowest paid in work than succumbing son, Jeremy Hunt, Dominic Raab, Matt industry and government at the start immigration and online harms, in casions while working as a journalist to what will inevitably [be], whoever’s Hancock, Andrea Leadsom, Mark of London Tech Week. forging a strong and supported 20 years ago, attempted to inject fresh the Prime Minister, the caricature of Harper, Esther McVey and Rory Stewart. Speaking to some of the world’s British tech sector ahead of its exit energy into his flagging campaign that ‘you’re the party of privilege’.” The first round of voting will take leading figures in technology at from the European Union. with a speech highlighting his humble Hancock was also cool on Johnson’s place on Thursday morning. FTSE 100▲ 7,375.54 +43.60 FTSE 250▲ 19,309.60 +77.21 DOW▲ 26,062.68 +78.74 NASDAQ▲ 7.823.17 +81.07 £/$ ▼ 1.269 -0.004 £/€ ▼ 1.121 -0.003 €/$ ▼ 1.131 -0.002 For the I know what I want investor Your capital is at risk. 02 NEWS TUESDAY 11 JUNE 2019 CITYAM.COM FUR ELISE Beethoven lock of hair expected THE CITY VIEW to fetch up to £15,000 at Sotheby’s sale A “SUBSTANTIAL” lock of Car industry troubles Ludwig van Beethoven’s hair is to go under the hammer at a Sotheby’s auction later today. The trimming, which go deeper than Brexit the German composer was said to have cut off and given to a pianist friend in 1826, is expected to fetch as much as HE DUST has settled. Bridgend’s male voice choir has £15,000. Fellow composers sung in protest at Ford’s Essex headquarters. And back in Frederic Chopin and their south Wales hometown, the US carmaker’s 1,700 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart T have both had strands of factory workers returned to work yesterday for the first their hair sold by the auction time since they learnt of their impending redundancy. house in recent years. But before they had even stopped for lunch, the Office for National Statistics delivered more glum news for Britain’s car industry. Vehicle production fell 24 per cent year-on-year in April, the biggest drop since records began in 1991. Following cuts to the UK operations of Nissan, Honda and Ford, many blamed the ONS figures on Brexit. But it would be facile to pin the ailing sector’s symptoms on this alone. Car makers are enduring a period of gut-wrenching upheaval. They can no longer rely on the internal combustion engine. Instead, they are pouring money into electric cars – $300bn over the next decade, specifically. Car makers are Meanwhile in China, trade enduring a period tensions and a cooling of gut-wrenching economy have curtailed its upheaval 1.4bn people’s desire to buy Sterling slides after stats cars. Sales fell six per cent last year to 22.7m vehicles, China’s first annual drop since 1990. Something has to give. Many are turning to cheap labour. Indian automotive factory workers are paid £1 an hour each on show sharp UK GDP drop average. Brits are paid 19 times that. For Ford, which will source engines currently made in Bridgend from India and Mexico HARRY ROBERTSON after 2020, it is a no-brainer. and Traders (SMMT) found that car at Capital Economics, said the poor manufacturing was 45 per cent lower reading meant “it’s now possible that Britain is no longer suited to the mass production needs of big @henrygrobertson in April than a year earlier. GDP won’t rise at all or even con- auto, and subsidising the global giants would only prolong THE UK ECONOMY contracted by 0.4 The unwinding of the stockpiling tract”in the second quarter. their departure. Instead, affected workers should be supported per cent in April as car plant shut- boost seen in March, where prepara- PwC chief economist John downs due to Brexit and the unwind- tions for Brexit increased demand, Hawksworth said consumer spend- through retraining opportunities and government policies that ing of stockpiling dented output, also dragged on GDP in April. ing, government spending, and allow the UK’s stronger industries to prosper. official figures yesterday revealed. Yesterday’s GDP figure followed a April’s income tax cuts should see Some areas of hope remain within the automotive sector itself, Sterling fell below $1.27 as traders contraction of 0.1 per cent in March, “modest” economic growth in Britain for example in the development of advanced clean digested the worse-than-expected and was below economists’ predic- of “around 0.2 per cent per quarter news. It dropped 0.5 per cent to buy tions of another 0.1 per cent fall. over the rest of the year”. technologies. Yesterday, business minister Andrew Stephenson $1.269 yesterday. The poor reading meant British GDP hailed a series of projects run by McLaren and Tata Motors Car manufacturing output plum- grew 0.3 per cent in the three months GBP/USD among others, expected to create thousands of jobs. meted 24 per cent in April, figures to April, compared to 0.5 per cent released yesterday by the Office for from January to March. 1.272 If the UK car industry is to remain on the road in the years National Statistics (ONS) showed. Some economists said the weak ahead, this is surely the route it will need to take. 1.268 Firms such as Jaguar Land Rover and manufacturing performance posed a 1.270 10 Jun BMW brought forward planned shut- threat to growth. downs, which occur each year, to co- The National Institute of Economic 1.268 incide with the original Brexit date of and Social Research (NIESR) think 29 March. They hoped to mitigate the tank yesterday said GDP was on 1.266 effects of a possible no-deal scenario course to contract by 0.2 per cent in on their complex supply chains. the second quarter of the year. Follow us on Twitter @cityam The Society of Motor Manufacturers Ruth Gregory, senior UK economist 3am 7am 11am 3pm 7pm FINANCIAL TIMES THE TIMES THE DAILY TELEGRAPH THE WALL STREET JOURNAL MOLDOVA STAND-OFF AS WHAT THE DRIVERS OF GREENEST CARS GURKHAS AMONG MIGRANTS DEMOCRATS AND DOJ REACH RIVALS LAY CLAIM TO OFFICE OTHER EXPOSED TO POOR AIR FORCED TO PROVIDE DNA DEAL ON MUELLER PROBE Moldova’s political crisis deepened Some of the greenest cars have such More than 1,350 migrants including The US House Judiciary Committee has yesterday, as two rival governments PAPERS SAY poor air filtration systems that their Gurkha families were illegally forced to reached an agreement to gain access to laid claim to office and faced off against drivers and passengers can be exposed provide DNA samples to the Home evidence special counsel Robert Mueller each other in the eastern European THIS to poisonous levels of particles, Office in support of their applications to collected on whether the President nation’s capital.