EQ Weekly Roundup: Feb 13, 2019

This week’s roundup includes news that Brexit uncertainty is leaving UK firms ‘out to dry’, Debenhams has secured a £40m cash lifeline and President Trump has said a second government shutdown is unlikely after a new border security deal was struck.  

Brexit doubts leaving firms ‘hung out to dry’ 

UK firms have accused the government of leaving them ‘hung out to dry’ in the event of a no-deal Brexit. 

With less than 50 days until the UK is due to leave the EU, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) says 20 key questions remain unresolved. 

How to move skilled staff between the UK and EU, which rules to follow, and what trade deals will be in place are all still unknown, the BCC says. 

’I absolutely recognise that for many businesses it is a period of uncertainty and concern,’ Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay told the BBC, adding he had already met BCC representatives to discuss the list of key questions. 

Debenhams secures cash lifeline 

Debenhams has secured a cash injection of £40m to buy extra time as it battles to secure a longer-term deal with lenders.  

The firm – which issued three profit warnings last year – is in talks with lenders over renegotiating its debts. 

The extra money will extend the retailer’s current £520m borrowing facilities with banks for 12 months and enable it to continue talks over a longer-term refinancing. 

News of the funding sent Debenham’s shares surging almost 40% in early trading hours. 

Carney warns of no-deal ‘economic shock’ 

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has urged MPs to solve the Brexit impasse in a speech warning of growing threats to the global economy.  

He said a no-deal Brexit would create an ‘economic shock’ at a time when China’s economy is slowing and trade tensions are rising. 

’It is in the interests of everyone, arguably everywhere that a Brexit solution is found,’ he said. 

‘It is possible that new rules of the road will be developed for a more inclusive and resilient global economy.At the same time, there is a risk that countries turn inwards, undercutting growth and prosperity for all.’ 

Trump: second govt shutdown unlikely 

US President Donald Trump has said that a second government shutdown is unlikely after lawmakers agreed to a deal to fund the federal government. 

’I don’t think you’re going to see a shutdown. If you did have it, it’s the Democrats fault,’ he said on Tuesday. 

Mr Trump’s remarks come after a political row over border security funding which shuttered a quarter of the US government for 35 days.The deal still needs to be approved by Congress and signed by the president. 

Details have yet to be released but aides familiar with the negotiations say it includes $1.4bn in funding for 55 miles of new fencing at the border, a small part of the more than 2,000 miles promised by the president.