Beat the Surge
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
BUSINESS WITH PERSONALITY THE GUVNOR UK’S A FORD — BUT NOT AS PUBS BOSS LOOKS YOU KNOW IT TESTING A TO KEEP FIZZ IN SOUPED-UP FIESTA P22 THE INDUSTRY P15 TUESDAY 3 DECEMBER 2019 ISSUE 3,513 CITYAM.COM FREE Top lawyer TRUMP OPENS UP NEW in drunken ‘kiss’ case JAMES BOOTH @Jamesdbooth1 FRONT IN TRADE WAR FORMER Baker McKenzie London managing partner HARRY ROBERTSON Gary Senior propositioned a junior lawyer at 3am after @henrygrobertson asking her to stay behind in US PRESIDENT Donald Trump rattled his hotel room, a tribunal global stock markets yesterday by heard yesterday. announcing he will slap tariffs on steel The incident took place in and aluminium imports from Brazil and 2012 but was hushed up by Argentina, published as part of a Twitter the firm, with Senior keeping outburst before he was pictured arriving his job and the junior lawyer in London for a Nato summit last night. (Person A) leaving with a Trump’s commerce secretary Wilbur payoff after signing a non- Ross then further shook investors’ nerves disclosure agreement. by threatening to ramp up tariffs on Andrew Tabachnik QC, China if Beijing does not strike a trade prosecuting for the Solicitors deal with the US by 15 December. Regulation Authority, said: On Twitter, Trump savaged Brazil and “The first respondent [Senior] Argentina for “presiding over a massive while managing partner of a devaluation of their currencies” which he leading UK and global firm said was hurting US farmers. propositioned Person A, a six- The tariffs could further damage the months-or-so qualified countries’ fragile economies. Brazilian associate solicitor in the early President Jair Bolsonaro said he would hours…having asked her to personally call to plead with Trump “so stay behind in his hotel room that he doesn’t penalise us”. He added: when all others left.” “I hope that he understands.” Senior “offered an Investors rushed to sell equities after inappropriate compliment Trump’s announcement. The mad dash about her appearance and soon became a stampede when Ross told the S&P 500 dropped 0.86 per cent and a number of countries. than DOUBLED, and Nato spending gave her an unwanted kiss on Fox Business that if China does not sign a the Dow Jones fell 0.96 per cent. Michael Hewson of CMC Markets said increased by $130bn!” he tweeted during the neck,” Tabachnik said. trade deal soon, “the President has made US markets were also hit by weaker- Trump “seems to have missed the point his flight to London. The incident took place quite clear he’ll put the tariffs in — the than-expected manufacturing data that the reason the currencies of both British politicians will be watching after a night of drinking. increased tariffs”. yesterday, which showed that the Brazil and Argentina are weak is not Trump’s visit closely after his previous In an apology conveyed to Germany’s Dax index and France’s Cac country’s factory sector shrank for the down to any deliberate or cunning plan,” forthright interventions. Person A, which was read out 40 led European stocks downwards, both fourth month in a row in November as but is instead due to “bad governance”. The US President will hold a press to the tribunal, Senior said: falling two per cent. The FTSE 100 trade tensions took their toll. The US President is expected to repeat conference tomorrow, following a series of “I was drunk and it was a finished the day 0.8 per cent lower, while Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on demands that Nato partners meet the meetings and a reception at Buckingham moment of madness”. the Eurostoxx 600 index had its worst day Brazil and Argentina scraps the organisation’s target of spending two per Palace to mark the 70th birthday of the He added: “If I get drunk I in two months. exemptions both countries secured last cent of GDP on defence. increasingly strained alliance. get tactile, affectionate, but I In the US, the trade-sensitive Nasdaq year, in which the US President slapped “Since I took office, the number of Nato don’t get unpleasant.” index finished 1.12 per cent lower, while punitive steel and aluminium levies on allies fulfilling their obligations more £ US MULLS TARIFFS ON FRANCE: P3 Senior denies wrongdoing. The case continues. FTSE 100 ▼ 7,285.94 -60.59 FTSE 250 ▼ 20,700.21 -112.39 DOW ▼ 27,783.04 -268.37 NASDAQ ▼ 8,567.99 -97.48 £/$ 1.294 unc. £/€▼ 1.168 -0.006 €/$▲ 1.108 +0.006 BEAT THE SURGE. FIXED FARES FROM £5*. DOWNLOAD THE APP NOW *See website for T&Cs 02 NEWS TUESDAY 3 DECEMBER 2019 CITYAM.COM COLD WAR THAW Thirtieth anniversary of Malta summit that brought an end to post-war tensions between the US and Russia THE CITY VIEW Corbyn can’t fix your miserable commute EREMY Corbyn is well and truly getting into the Christmas spirit — he’s making a list, checking it twice, gonna find Jout who’s naughty or nice, Jeremy is coming to town. Momentum activists could turn that into a Christmas number one. But who’s on the Labour leader’s list? Well, he’s pretty clear about who’s been naughty. Indeed, he revels in pointing the finger at bad bosses, fat cats, bankers, hedge funds, polluters, privatisers, Tories (obviously) and of course, billionaires. Corbyn sees billionaires everywhere. He claims they wrote the Tory manifesto, and that they paid for it. This seems like a poor deal, but Corbyn knows what he’s talking about. The other side of Father Corbyn’s list is also pretty clear: nurses, teachers, factory workers, students and — as of yesterday — rail commuters. This is an understandably sensitive subject, not TODAY marks 30 years since reforming Soviet premier Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George HW Bush met on a Russian least as so many commuters spend their mornings crammed on cruise ship moored in the Maltese harbour of Marsaxlokk to signal an end to the Cold War. Over the weekend Gorbachev warned platforms waiting to cram into an over-crowded train. And that’s a “new Cold War must not be allowed” and criticised American and Russian decisions to pull out of long-standing nuclear pacts. without strike misery compounding the problems. You may pay thousands of pounds a year to endure this journey into the capital and if, having been carried along by the throng you stumble out of Waterloo station to find a Labour activist promising to cut your rail fare by a third, you may very well consider it a tempting offer. However, beware of politicians promising a stocking full of freebies. Firstly, Labour’s pledge to Brexit chaos could spark slash the cost of a season ticket cannot be separated from its other pledge to renationalise the rail network. This raises the question of whether a Whitehall department is capable of delivering a better and cheaper service than the current system activist investor interest of (admittedly complex) franchises. It’s also worth remembering (and this can be hard to do on a rammed-commuter service into JESS CLARK disruption because in disruption companies are now at risk from London) that most people don’t use trains. The most recent AND SEBASTIAN MCCARTHY some management teams don’t activists, rising from 52 in April. statistics from the Department for Transport show that 62 per @jclarkjourno @SebMcCarthy manage so well, and a good company However, the UK’s dominance is becomes poorer. eroding as activism across continen- cent of all journeys are made by car, with rail coming in at three DISRUPTION from Brexit could spark “That gives activists an opportunity, tal Europe gathers momentum. per cent — below walking and buses. Just 11 per cent of people an increase in activist investors target- when the share price doesn’t “As activism becomes more en- commute to work by train, with nearly 70 per cent of people ing public companies in the UK, a represent the value of the company. trenched in European markets, share- relying on their car. This matters because Labour says it will pay new report has warned. Brexit is a disruption, and some holders are increasingly employing The UK, which is already Europe’s companies won’t manage their way activist tactics against boards they for a fare cut by cashing in on the amount raised by Vehicle largest market for activists, is at risk through that well.” disagree with, with traditional insti- Excise Duty — currently around £6.5bn a year. The Tories have of drawing more attention from Paul Kinrade, senior adviser at A&M tutional investors also taking more earmarked this pot for road improvements. Labour would investors looking to pile the added: “When markets suffer any vocal stances,” the report said. therefore tax car-owners in order to subsidise relatively well-off pressure on management over the kind of disruption, people react very The European market for activism is coming year. differently... it is easier for activists to set to grow next year, with 158 coun- commuters who largely live and work in London and the south- Professional services firm Alvarez see who is not responding well. tries on the continent braced for east. It is not a progressive policy, and it probably wouldn’t make and Marsal (A&M) has said that “Activists are not looking for the activists, rising from 150 in April. your commute any more tolerable. Sorry. disruption caused by Britain’s ex- weakest companies, what they want is Industrials remain a significant pected departure of the EU will “lead a company whose share price has sector for activists, but interest in to greater opportunities for activists fallen away.