Here are our picks of the business news and highlights of the year 2019:
Summary
- 2019 was a year dominated by Brexit with the UK parliament at a stalemate and unable to deliver Brexit without a majority government. The autumn budget was cancelled and a snap election resulted in a majority vote for Conservative candidate Boris Johnson to be elected UK Prime Minister. After 3 years, the uncertainty over Brexit has been lifted as Boris Johnson has a clear mandate to leave the EU in 2020.
- The government have proposed to review the extension of the IR35 rules to the private sector due to commence in April 2020. The review will take place in early 2020.
- Growth in the UK has been slow in most sectors. Uncertainty over Brexit, combined with trade disputes between the US and China have reduced confidence in the global markets. UK Retail has had a challenging year due to rising costs and strong competition from online retailers. Debenhams announced 19 store closures in 2019 and Marks & Spencer fell out of the FTSE100.
- The IT sector in the UK is booming with significant demand for talented IT contractors in the growing Fintech market in London in particular. There is also significant demand for talented technical project managers in the UK.
- Clarity over the Brexit policy following the election has increased confidence in the UK economy with the Pound rising against the Euro and the US Dollar. This gives rise to the possibility of a Brexit bounce in early 2020. UK contractors will look on with high expectation.
- The Bank of England maintained UK interest rates at 0.75% in 2019.
- The Pound finished the year up from 1.11 to 1.18 against the Euro.
- The Pound finished the year up from 1.27 to 1.31 against the US Dollar.
- The FTSE100 finished the year up from 6,728 to 7,239.
- Bitcoin rose gradually throughout the year from $3,700 to $7,400.
December 2019
- Boris Johnson was elected as UK Prime Minister with an overall majority. The result provides a clear mandate for Brexit which will take place in 2020 and lifts the uncertainty that has affected the UK over the past 3 years.
- The Conservative party made a manifesto pledge to review the proposed extension of the IR35 rules to the private sector from April 2020. The review will take place in early 2020.
- Saudi Aramco raises $25.6 billion in world’s biggest IPO. The oil giant listed 1.5% of its shares on the Saudi Arabian stock exchange. The company was valued at $1.7 trillion on flotation and the valuation increased to $2 trillion a week later.
- Challenger banks, Starling Bank, Monzo and First Direct have been nominated as the best banks for customer service by consumer group Which?.
November 2019
- The number of small to medium sized business claiming R&D relief on their expenditure has increased significantly over recent years according to HMRC.
- UK advertising revenues were boosted following a successful campaign by England who reached the final of the Rugby 2019 World Cup.
- Crossrail is delayed for the third time. The latest forecast is for the project to be delivered in 2021.
- Google have developed a Quantum Computer that can solve complex problems significantly quicker than the conventional supercomputer.
- McDonalds CEO Steve Easterbrook is fired for breaching company policy and having a consensual relationship with an employee. He received a termination payment of $37m.
- Uber to lose its London taxi license at end of 2019 due to safety concerns. The innovative ride hailing app will not be available for journeys in London from 1 January 2020. Uber is disappointed with the result and will appeal the decision.
October 2019
- The 2019 Autumn Budget announcement was cancelled following a decision by the Boris Johnson to call a snap election in December. To date the UK government have not been able to make good progress on Brexit without a majority.
- Facebook paid only £28.5 million tax in Britain last year, despite sales of £1.6 billion.
- The $10 billion flotation of WeWork was cancelled due to unflattering results and insufficient demand for investment.
- Flutter Entertainment, the owner of Paddypowerbetfair, announced the purchase Pokerstars. The deal is expected to make it the largest online gaming group in the world.
- UK Fund Manager Neil Woodford was dismissed by the administrators and Woodford Investment Fund will be closed down in an orderly fashion. Investors have been locked out of the main fund since June 2019 and will face heavy losses.
- Amazon allege that Trump's attacks on Bezos earlier in the year led to the loss of their $10 billion cloud computing contract with the Pentagon to Microsoft.
September 2019
- Prime Minister Boris Johnson suspends the UK Parliament to 14 October in a bid to prevent opposition to a no deal Brexit.
- A majority of MP’s take over Parliament and pass a law to prevent a no deal Brexit proposed by Boris Johnson.
- UK Retailer Marks & Spencer falls out of the FTSE 100.
- Flights from Heathrow Terminal 5 are grounded following a pilot strike at British Airways.
- The oil price spiked in September following a drone strike on a major oil field in Saudi Arabia.
- Travel Agent Thomas Cook falls into administration with debts of over £1.25 billion.
August 2019
- London suffers a blackout for a day following power failure at National Grid. Trains and hospitals were among those affected across parts of the UK.
- French President, Emmanuel Macron condemns Brazil for failing to control a large fire in the Amazon rainforest.
- Demonstrators continue to clash with police in Hong Kong.
- Hong Kong billionaire buys Green King.
- Foreign investment in UK Tech startups hits a record high in the first 7 months of 2019.
- HMRC announced that fines for missing the first tax deadline for Making Tax Digital (MTD) will be waived.
- Tech giant UBER is valued at $100 billion making it the largest flotation in 2019 to date.
July 2019
- The US stockmarket hits all time highs with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 exceeding 27,000 and 3,000 respectively.
- The controversial extradition bill in Hong Kong was suspended following several large protests in the city.
- Volkswagen and Ford form a global alliance in a joint R&D effort to develop electric and driverless cars.
- Facebook was fined £5 billion by the Federal Trade Commission for mishandling users private information.
June 2019
- Plans for the third runway at Heathrow were released with a due date for completion in 2026.
- Boots announces it will close 200 stores in the UK.
- Bitcoin continues to surge reaching a high of $13k in June.
- Thousands of protesters demonstrated on the streets of Hong Kong against plans by the Chinese government to allow extradition of Hong Kong citizens to China. This is the largest protest in Hong Kong since the city came under Chinese rule in 1997. Maintaining Hong Kong’s autonomy is essential for attracting direct investment to the City.
- Investment Manager Neil Woodford’s independent fund was suspended due to liquidity issues preventing investors from withdrawing their funds.
- Facebook announces plan to launch own crypto currency called Libra in 2020.
May 2019
- Theresa May resigns as UK Prime Minister effective June. A new Conservative PM will be announced in July.
- The 2019 European Elections in the UK resulted in gains for the Brexit Party who obtained 31% of the vote. The Lib Dems gained 20% of the vote. Voters showed their dissatisfaction with the handling of Brexit by both Conservatives and Labour who obtained only 9% and 14% respectively.
- Bitcoin surged in value in May, rising from a low of $3k earlier in the year to $8.8k.
- The US China trade war escalates with the US banning trade with Huawei.
April 2019
- HMRC propose to extend IR35 rules to the private sector, due to commence in April 2020.
- The new Ultra Low Emission Zone charge was introduced in London.
- Sainsbury’s acquisition of Asda is blocked by the Competition and Markets Authority.
March 2019
- The Brexit date of 29 March 2019 for leaving the European Union was extended to allow more time for the parties to agree a deal.
February 2019
- Horseracing in the UK was shutdown for a week due to equine flu.
- Patisserie Valerie falls into administration after £40m fraud.
January 2019
- US Government shutdown due to disagreement over cost of President Trump’s border wall with Mexico.
- Google fined €50m in France for breach of GDPR data protection rules.