Grants

November 2, 2016

Bridging the valley of death: grants versus loans

A lack of appropriate and timely funding for innovative businesses is a barrier to productivity and growth. But what is appropriate and what is timely? These are key questions as the United…

Israel nears a decision on a cease-fire deal with Hezbollah
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel is set to meet with his cabinet today to discuss a proposed cease-fire with Hezbollah, Israeli officials said. US officials have pressured him to finalize the terms this week, and Netanyahu has indicated that he’s open to a deal, according to other Israeli officials briefed on his thinking. Mediators have made significant progress toward a cease-fire over the past week, but a key sticking point has been Netanyahu’s insistence on securing some assurance that Israel would be able to restart the fighting if Hezbollah were to break the truce, Israeli officials said. The proposal is seen as the best chance to end fighting that has killed thousands in Lebanon and close to 100 Israeli civilians and soldiers while displacing roughly 60,000 people in Israel and about one million in Lebanon. New York Times, November 26

Trump vows to impose 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada
US President-elect Donald Trump said on Monday he intends to impose a 25 per cent tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, along with a 10 per cent tariff on imports from China in response to the illegal drug trade and immigration. In a series of posts to his Truth Social social media account, Trump vowed to hit some of the United States' largest trading partners with sweeping tariffs on all goods entering the country. "On January 20th, as one of my many first Executive Orders, I will sign all necessary documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 per cent tariff on ALL products coming into the United States, and its ridiculous Open Borders," he wrote. In another post moments later, the past and future president said he would also be slapping China with a 10 per cent tariff, "above any additional Tariffs," on all of its products entering the US in response to its failure to tackle fentanyl smuggling. France 24, November 26

European stocks slide as Trump’s tariffs pledge hits automakers
European stocks fell in early trading, weighed down by automakers after President-elect Donald Trump pledged to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on his first day in office. The Stoxx 600 Europe followed Asian markets to open down 0.5 per cent. Daimler Truck was the biggest faller, down 4.7 per cent. Stellantis, Iveco, Renault and Volvo were also down in early trading. Tomas Wieladek of T Rowe Price said investors had seen Trump’s tariffs only as a negotiating tactic, “but this shows the opposite … markets expect he will now hit Europe”. Paris’s Cac 40 fell 0.8 per cent. Frankfurt’s Dax dropped 0.5 per cent. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.3 per cent. Sterling weakened against the dollar to trade at $1.26. Financial Times, November 26

Trump’s federal prosecutor abandons all charges
The special prosecutor appointed to investigate Donald Trump in two federal criminal cases has requested that all charges against him be dropped. Jack Smith filed back-to-back motions on Monday to end his legal pursuits of the president-elect, who has vowed to immediately fire Smith upon his return to the White House in January. Judge Tanya Chutkan responded to Smith’s first motion by dismissing the case in which Trump is charged over his alleged attempts to interfere with the result of the 2020 election. Smith also requested the dismissal of felony charges relating to the hoarding of classified government documents at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate after he left office in 2021. The Times, November 25

Premier League and Channel 4 to train teenagers in Labour’s £45m work drive
Teenagers will get skills training at the Premier League, Royal Shakespeare Company and Channel 4 as part of a government drive to get hundreds of thousands into jobs or education and make sure “no young person is left behind”. Some of Britain’s biggest cultural and sporting institutions will provide work or training opportunities as part of a £45m “trailblazer” scheme across eight English regions, including Liverpool, Tees Valley and the East Midlands. Ministers are announcing sweeping changes to the welfare system and out-of-work support on Tuesday, as part of a plan to get more people into work and cut the welfare bill, which has increased since the Covid crisis, with more than 9 million people now economically inactive. However, further measures to overhaul the multibillion-pound health and disability benefits system are not expected until next year. The government has already said it will honour Conservative proposals to make £3bn worth of cuts, but will do so through its own reforms. The Guardian, November 26

MPs brand UK financial regulator 'incompetent'
A group of MPs and Peers have published a scathing report on the UK's main financial regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority. Describing it as "incompetent", they say the FCA is "too often failing" to perform its functions and are calling for it to be overhauled. The regulator has been heavily criticised by several independent reviews in recent years. The FCA did not see the full report ahead of publication but a spokesperson told the Financial Times: “We sympathise with those who have lost out as a result of wrongdoing in financial services, however we strongly reject the characterisation of the organisation." “We have learned from historic issues and transformed as an organisation so we can deliver for consumers, the market and the wider economy,” it added. The report, due to be presented in Parliament later on Tuesday, was put together by a cross-party interest group and is based on written testimony from 175 respondents collected over two and a half years. BBC news, November 26

France drops buy-EU demand for Brussels defence fund
France has dropped its opposition to non-EU companies accessing EU-funded financial incentives for Europe’s defence industry, as Brussels pushes to develop a stronger domestic arms industry less dependent on the US. French diplomats in Brussels have voiced support for a proposal that would allow for up to 35 per cent of EU budget-financed cash incentives to be spent on defence products from outside the 27-member bloc, according to five people briefed on technical discussions last week. That follows around a year of opposition from Paris to allowing defence companies from countries such as the US, UK, Israel and Turkey from participating in the EU’s proposed European Defence Investment Plan, on the grounds that it should only promote homegrown companies amid a push for European “strategic autonomy”. But that position had shifted this month, two of the officials said, adding that it would be difficult for the EU to simultaneously lobby incoming US president Donald Trump not to reduce US military support to Europe, while excluding US companies from efforts to build up the European defence industry. Financial Times, November 25

No 10 indicates Netanyahu faces arrest if he enters UK
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces arrest if he travels to the UK, after an international arrest warrant was issued for him, Downing Street has indicated. A No 10 spokesman refused to comment on the specific case but said the government would fulfil its "legal obligations". On Thursday the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu, along with Israel's former defence minister Yoav Gallant, over alleged war crimes in Gaza. The court's member countries, including the UK, have signed a treaty obliging them to act on arrest warrants. BBC news, November 25

COP29 talks end with a deal
Negotiators at this year’s UN climate summit, known as COP29, struck an agreement early yesterday to help developing countries adopt cleaner energy and cope with the effects of climate change. Under the deal, wealthy nations pledged to reach $300 billion per year in support by 2035, increased from the current target of $100 billion. But the deal was almost immediately assailed as inadequate by a string of delegates. Independent experts have said developing countries need $1.3 trillion per year, much more than the agreement allows for. Countries are expected to submit updated emissions-reduction pledges in the coming months before a February deadline. And on the heels of the contentious climate talks, negotiators are descending on Busan, South Korea, for another UN-led climate effort: the first treaty designed to tackle plastic pollution. New York Times, November 25

Ministers target prisoners to fill UK’s labour shortages
Ministers believe that tens of thousands more prisoners can fill labour shortages by targeting them with more jobs support and training while behind bars. Prisoners will be among millions of people set to get extra career support in sweeping changes to the welfare state in a white paper to be published on Tuesday. The plans, titled “Get Britain Working”, will cite statistics showing that less than a third of prison leavers find employment within six months of release, while the rate of employment for criminals serving non-custodial sentences in the community is still less than half. Measures will encourage and offer incentives to more employers to employ ex-convicts through employment advisory boards that will sit within each prison, and match skills being taught to inmates with the specific labour shortages in the local area, such as construction or hospitality. The Times, November 24

‘We had no alternative’: Reeves to defend her budget to the CBI
A defiant Rachel Reeves will rebuke critics of her tax-raising budget on Monday, telling disgruntled business leaders that they have offered “no alternatives” to her plans. Since Labour’s first budget in 14 years last month, business groups have warned that the chancellor’s £25bn increase in employer national insurance contributions will force them to cut jobs and raise prices. Thousands of farmers have also protested against changes to inheritance tax. But Reeves will tell the Confederation of British Industry annual conference in Westminster that no one has offered a better solution to the challenging situation left behind by the previous, Conservative government. “I have heard lots of responses to the government’s first budget but I have heard no alternatives,” she is expected to say. “We have asked businesses and the wealthiest to contribute more. I know those choices will have an impact. But I stand by those choices as the right choices for our country: investment to fix the NHS and rebuild Britain, while ensuring working people don’t face higher taxes in their payslips.” The Guardian, November 25

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Grants

Bridging the valley of death: grants versus loans