Radical reforms to open up trade in services, online commerce and cross-border investment could give the world economy a major boost over the coming years, if Governments choose to seize the opportunity. The International Monetary Fund is launching a new campaign to stop the trade war and encourage nations to rediscover the benefits of trade, in the face of higher tariffs and anti-trade rhetoric, particularly as the US builds barriers against Chinese goods.
GKN owner Melrose Industries (MRO) is preparing to cash in on its turnaround of the US air conditioning manufacturer Nortek as part of a string of sales expected to raise up to £6bn. Melrose bosses are exploring a sale of Nortek just two years after they snapped up the business for £2.2bn.
Digital start-ups are complaining they have been frozen out of the lion’s share of a contest for £775m of funding stumped up by Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) to boost competition in business banking. Tide, the business banking service, told The Daily Telegraph the eligibility criteria had blocked it from bidding for the majority of the package. Regulators have forced RBS to carve out the funding as the price of keeping subsidiary Williams & Glyn. Brussels had originally demanded RBS spin out 300 branches because the bank received a £45bn bailout during the financial crisis, but the plan proved too technically demanding.
Investors are seeking a City big hitter to replace the outgoing chairman of struggling broker TP ICAP (TCAP), accusing the board of being “asleep at the wheel”. One top-five shareholder said that former London Stock Exchange chief Xavier Rolet, who helped the exchange’s market capitalisation grow from £800m to £13bn, would be an “inspirational appointment” for the under-pressure broker.
Questor: we may have to wait years for returns, so it is time to sell Capital & Counties Properties (CAPC)
