Brexit is ‘stifling’ Britain’s trade with Europe and the problem is getting worse | CNN Business

September 17, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Brexit is having “profound and ongoing stifling effects” on goods trade between the United Kingdom and the European Union, according to a new report that adds to evidence of the economic damage wrought by Britain’s exit from the world’s largest trading bloc.

Researchers at Aston University in England estimated that between 2021 and 2023, annual UK exports of goods to the EU were 17% lower than they would have been had Brexit never happened. Exports in most sectors have decreased since 2021, according to the report.

“The study highlights that the negative impacts of (Brexit) have intensified over time, with 2023 showing more pronounced trade declines than previous years,” the researchers wrote in the paper published Tuesday.

Amazon takeover of iRobot to be blocked by EU | BBC

January 22, 2024January 21, 2024 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Amazon’s takeover of vacuum cleaner maker iRobot is set to be blocked by the European Union’s competition watchdog, the BBC understands.

It’s a blow to the tech giant, which was previously given the all-clear for the purchase by the UK government’s competition watchdog.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that its place in the UK market was “modest” and that it already faced several significant rivals.

Amazon declined to comment.

The online giant moved to buy iRobot, maker of the Roomba cleaner, in August 2022 in a takeover deal set to cost $1.7bn (£1.4bn).

Apple will allow third-party app stores, because the EU mandates it | Mashable

December 15, 2022December 14, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The European Union isn’t having any of Apple’s exclusionary business practices.

First, Apple was forced to make iPhones USB-C compatible by 2024, and now the company must allow third-party app stores on its iPhones and iPads. Per Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is complying with the EU’s Digital Markets Act, a series of strict rules aimed at breaking down anti-competitive practices from Big Tech and improving interoperability for consumers.

EU agrees on rules to tame ‘Wild West’ crypto market | CNN

July 1, 2022June 30, 2022 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The European Union has agreed on ground-breaking rules for regulating crypto assets, EU lawmakers said on Thursday, as the rout in bitcoin piles pressure on authorities to rein in the sector.

Globally, crypto assets are largely unregulated, with national operators in the EU only required to show controls for combating money laundering.

Representatives from the European Parliament and EU states thrashed out a deal on the markets in crypto assets (MiCA) law, which is expected to come into force around the end of 2023.

Third Brexit vote must be different – Speaker | BBC News

March 18, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Speaker John Bercow has thrown the UK’s Brexit plans into further confusion by ruling out another vote on the PM’s deal unless MPs are given a new motion.

In a surprise ruling, he said he would not allow a third “meaningful vote” in the coming days on “substantially the same” motion as MPs rejected last week.

With 11 days to go before the UK is due to leave the EU, ministers have warned of a looming “constitutional crisis”.

The UK is currently due to leave the EU on 29 March.

Business is ‘staring down the precipice’ over Brexit | CNN

March 13, 2019March 12, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Companies in the United Kingdom are suffering from a bad case of déjà vu after lawmakers rejected a second version of the Brexit deal negotiated by Prime Minister Theresa May.

“Enough is enough,” said Carolyn Fairbairn, director general of the Confederation of British Industry, a business lobby. “It’s time for parliament to stop this circus,” she added, stressing that “jobs and livelihoods depend on it.”

The stunning defeat increases the chances that Britain will crash out of the European Union without a deal in just 17 days — doing big damage to the economy — or that Brexit will be delayed, prolonging the uncertainty for business.

Theresa May offers MPs Brexit delay vote | BBC News

February 27, 2019February 26, 2019 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Theresa May has promised MPs a vote on delaying the UK’s departure from the EU or ruling out a no-deal Brexit, if they reject her deal next month.

Mrs May made a statement to MPs about Brexit on Tuesday, amid the threat of a revolt by Remain-supporting ministers.

The PM has promised MPs a meaningful vote on her Brexit deal by 12 March.

But Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn accused the prime minister of another “grotesquely reckless” Brexit delay.

EU to launch counter-tariffs against US on Friday | BBC News

June 20, 2018 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

The European Union will launch a raft of retaliatory tariffs against US exports on Friday, a top official has said.

The move comes after US President Donald Trump imposed steep duties on steel and aluminium earlier this month.

American exports such as blue jeans, motorbikes and bourbon whiskey will be targeted, trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom confirmed.

However, she said the bloc “did not want to be in this position”.

Brexit talks: U.K. and EU begin divorce negotiations | CNN Money

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Brexit talks are officially underway.

Officials charged with negotiating the first departure of a country from the European Union were in Brussels on Monday to kick off the most consequential series of talks for the U.K. since the end of World War II.

Chief U.K. negotiator David Davis is meeting his EU counterpart, former French foreign minister Michel Barnier, to grapple with a complex set of questions about the future of trade and migration, how much the country must pay to settle its bill with the bloc, and the rights of millions of citizens who have settled in Britain or Europe.

Paramount settles EU pay-TV probe but other studios hold out | Money CNN

July 26, 2016 ~ knjohn ~ Leave a comment

Paramount has broken ranks with other Hollywood studios and agreed to ditch contentious contracts that restricted who could watch its movies on pay-TV in Europe.

Europe’s top regulator said Tuesday that Paramount will now allow customers across the European Union to access pay-TV content that had previously been restricted to the U.K. and Ireland.

Last year, the regulator accused Paramount and five competitors of illegally curbing European access to movies and TV shows through anti-competitive contracts with Britain’s Sky TV (SKYAY), part of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox.

The other five studios the regulator fingered are: Disney (DIS), Comcast (CCV)-owned NBCUniversal, Sony (SNE), Twentieth Century Fox, also owned by 21st Century Fox (FOX), and Warner Bros. (Warner Bros. is a unit of Time Warner (TWX), which owns CNN.)