‘The UK needs some media free of US control’: Comcast’s move for ITV starts to focus minds

The prospect of Comcast taking over ITV has prompted concerns about the impact on British public service broadcasting, a fact that Channel 4’s new chief executive, moving from a senior post at Sky, will be all too well aware.Sky’s advertising chief, Priya Dogra, will now be expected to lead the charge to block her former employer’s takeover plan to protect Channel 4.The proposed combination of Sky and ITV’s broadcasting operation would leave Channel 4 a relative commercial minnow when it comes to TV and digital ad sales, reigniting talk of the need to revisit some form of tie-up with the BBC for long-term survival.However, it is the potential ramifications on the future of news provision that are causing the most immediate alarm for many in the TV industry.The surprise news last month that Comcast, which owns assets including Universal Studios and bought Rupert Murdoch’s Sky for £30bn in 2018, is in talks to buy ITV’s broadcasting business makes commercial sense

Labour is procrastinating over policy as UK’s economy goes backwards | Phillip Inman

There is a heavy cloud hanging over Labour’s Christmas celebrations.The most recent figures show the economy is going backwards and worse, the slide is prompting recession talk in the corridors of City banks.If there is a recession, it will only be slight, but with unemployment rising and businesses reluctant to invest, the economy remains stuck in first gear.In this gloomy atmosphere, not many Labour MPs will feel comfortable donning paper hats and toasting their leaders.Especially not when Whitehall is dominated by a single activity – procrastination

Zipcar’s rivals consider London expansion after it reveals UK exit

Several car-sharing companies are considering launching or expanding in London, with the imminent closure of Zipcar’s UK operation leaving a large gap in the market in one of Europe’s biggest cities.Free2Move, owned by the carmaker Stellantis, said it was “closely monitoring the London market”, and “actively assessing” options for its services. It already operates fleets in cities including Berlin, Paris, Rome and Washington DC.Enterprise Car Club, which already has some cars in London, said it “will continue to seek out opportunities to expand our network and provide people with alternative transport options by the hour or day”.Co Wheels, which operates across the UK and with a handful of cars in the capital, said it was “actively discussing” options with several London boroughs in recent days

Trump demands Fed listen to him as he lines up new leader: ‘I’m a smart voice’

Donald Trump declared he “should be listened to” by the Federal Reserve, as he weighs candidates to lead the central bank amid an extraordinary campaign by the White House to exert greater control over its decisions.The US president said on Friday that former Fed governor Kevin Warsh is currently top of his list to chair the central bank.Jerome Powell, the current Fed chairperson, is scheduled to finish an eight-year stint in the role next May. He has repeatedly defied Trump’s demands for drastic cuts to interest rates, prompting the president to launch a string of public attacks.Trump is also considering his adviser Kevin Hassett, who leads the National Economic Council, as a potential chair of the Fed

‘Every Leon should be magical’: food chain’s co-founder on what went wrong – and how to fix it

John Vincent on bouncing back after cutting branches, refreshing the menu, and staff learning from martial arts John Vincent is going back to the future. Four years after selling Leon, the fast food chain named after his father and founded in 2004 with two friends, he has bought it back with hopes of reviving its fortunes.“In a crisis you need a pilot in full control,” the martial arts fan says, speaking to the Guardian from Leon’s headquarters near London Bridge.He is getting his metaphorical trainers on to “outrun the lion” as he ploughs his efforts and his own money into reviving the troubled chain.The former management consultant bought back Leon for a rumoured £30m-£50m – significantly less than the £100m he sold it for – from the supermarket chain Asda in October, 21 years after the first restaurant opened in Camden

December cut to UK interest rates ‘nailed on’ after economy shrinks unexpectedly by 0.1% in October – as it happened

Economists are convinced that the Bank of England will respond to the UK’s weak economic performance by cutting interest rates next week.The Bank’s monetary policy committee will make its final decision of the year on Thursday 18th December, and a rate cut to 3.75% appears highly likely now that the economy shrunk by 0.1% in October.Ruth Gregory, deputy chief UK economist at Capital Economics, says:The surprise 0