Brexit deal, US-China trade talks, Boohoo, Takeda: your commercial news round-up
updated on 05 December 2018
Although MPs have had to abandon their marathon, five-day debate about Theresa May’s Brexit deal with the EU following the cancellation of what would have been today's crucial vote on whether to accept the terms or not, the issue of Brexit is dominating the business sections more than ever. Brexit anxiety has reached fever pitch, as news emerged that the uncertainty has caused the UK’s service sector to stall and car sales have fallen. The government has also been forced to publish its Brexit legal advice in full after being found in contempt of parliament for failing to disclose the information to MPs, which caused the pound to fall in value even further.
But Brexit is far from the only issue on the minds of people in business. Catch up on the commercial stories that aspiring lawyers should be reading up on in our latest round-up below – a day earlier than usual this week as LCN gears up for the LawCareersNetLIVE Manchester student conference on Friday.
Sticking with Brexit for now and Toyota has come out in strong support of May’s proposed deal, warning that a no-deal Brexit would put at risk its production of £10 million worth of cars a day – production on which many jobs depend.
After a temporary truce was agreed over the weekend, the trade war of tit-for-tat tariffs between China and the US has ceased for now. The dispute has hurt industry, but now Chinese officials are indicating that an agreement could soon be reached between the two superpowers.
Fast-fashion retailer Boohoo has been found to have broken Advertising Standards Authority rules with “misleading promotions”. A BBC investigation found that time-limited offers on Boohoo’s website did not in fact end when the display timer reached zero.
Shareholders have approved Takeda Pharmaceutical’s planned takeover of Shire, a UK-listed drugs company. The £46 billion deal would make Takeda one of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in the world.
Be sure to check the News every Thursday for this weekly commercial news round-up. Follow @LawCareersNetUK on Twitter and like us on Facebook for instant business news updates.
