Author: Bryan McHusman

Winter is set to bite this week with temperatures falling away to a possible low of -10C (17.6F) on Thursday and authorities issuing a health warning. Snow is expected to fall in hilly areas of the country and parts of Scotland could even see -10C (14F) and yellow warnings for ice have been issued for parts of Wales, the North West and West Midlands. The Met Office forecast comes after the UK experienced bitter temperatures at the weekend, but stayed above freezing for most. On Sunday night, some isolated areas experienced sub-zero conditions, such as Cairnwell in the Scottish Highlands.…

BA owner IAG is buying the take-off and landing slots left vacant at Gatwick Airport by collapsed airline Monarch. The deal will give IAG the winter and summer slots at Britain’s second-busiest airport, the result of what is understood to have been a significant bid by the company. The value of Monarch’s slots at Gatwick and Luton are estimated to be worth in the region of £60m, the most valuable being at Gatwick. Monarch’s slots at Luton are also being auctioned off. A spokesman for IAG said: “IAG can confirm that it is in the process of completing the acquisition…

A single Bitcoin has hit $10,000 (£7,495) for the first time despite fears of a bubble. The cryptocurrency hit $5,000 (£3,750) for the first time in October and in the brief period since then has doubled in value again. It traded at $10,009 on the CEX exchange on Tuesday morning before dropping back down. Over this calendar year, the digital cash has increased 1,000% in value and is continuing to attract investors. Despite concerns that a bubble in the cryptocurrency’s value has been driven by increasing investment from those who fear they are missing out, investors continue to buy in…

The UK’s seven biggest lenders are all strong enough to cope with a “disorderly” no-deal Brexit, according to a Bank of England assessment. But the Bank said it would consider whether the firms needed to hold billions more capital as an emergency buffer in case such a scenario coincided with a wider global downturn. The Bank’s financial policy committee also set out a wishlist of actions required to mitigate the risks to UK financial services posed by the departure from the EU. For the first time since the annual stress testing regime began in 2014, all the major lenders received…

Uber has announced plans to buy up to 24,000 self-driving cars from Volvo as it looks to expand on its ride-booking app. The cars would be available through the Uber app to pick up passengers without a driver, giving the business its first commercial fleet of cars. The non-binding framework deal builds on a relationship of nearly three years between San Francisco-based Uber and the car-maker. Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group is developing the self-driving system to be used in the Volvo cars. Volvo confirmed it would provide up to 24,000 of its XC90 SUVs equipped with driverless technology as part…

The Government has put pressure on the EU to begin talks on post-Brexit trade in order to help solve questions over the Irish border, in the face of a fresh warning from Dublin. Theresa May, Boris Johnson and David Davis urged EU leaders to move on to negotiations about Britain’s future relationship with the bloc. The three have argued they can’t fully discuss border issues regarding the island of Ireland without advancing talks. Cabinet ministers are reported to have agreed an increased offer on the UK’s financial settlement of up to £40bn, in the hope of breaking the deadlock in Brexit…

EasyJet says it has a “strategic advantage” over rivals, with bookings in its current quarter up 88% on last year as competitors dwindle in number and others endure operational problems. The no-frills carrier said trading in its first quarter was “encouraging” – suggesting it was benefiting from the demise of Monarch Airlines, which collapsed last month in the wake of similar turbulence at Air Berlin and Alitalia. Ryanair endured a PR disaster when it was forced to cancel flights for 700,000 passengers between September and March, while British Airways has also admitted a battle to win back customer trust after a costly IT failure. EasyJet shares…

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has announced his resignation with immediate effect. Wild celebrations broke out as a resignation letter was read out in the country’s parliament, where impeachment proceedings against the ruler had begun. Mr Mugabe said he had chosen to step down “to ensure a smooth, peaceful and non-violent transfer of power”, adding that he made the decision voluntarily. The announcement has sparked jubilant scenes in Zimbabwean capital Harare, where protesters had gathered to call for the 93-year-old to be removed from office. Paul Mangwana, a senior official from ruling party ZANU-PF, has told Sky News that ousted vice…