Vodafone HQ may move elsewhere after Brexit

Telecoms giant Vodafone has warned that it may move its headquarters out of the UK, if a post-Brexit agreement with the EU is unfavourable to business.

In an emailed statement the company highlighted the importance of the EU’s free movement of capital and goods, saying it would take “whatever decisions are appropriate” once an agreement has been reached.

However, it said it was too early to “draw any firm conclusions regarding the long-term location for the headquarters”.

The loss of Vodafone from the UK would have a significant impact on business sentiment, as well as British jobs; the company currently employs 13,000 people, with an operating division at Newbury, Berkshire, and a headquarters in London.

FTSE opens higher for second day straight

Britain’s top share index opened higher again this morning, as worry over an immediate exit from the EU recedes.

The FTSE 100 index is currently up 1.68 percent (0932GMT), in positive territory for the second day in a row after crashing on Friday post-Brexit. Investor sentiment has been calmed by Prime Minister David Cameron’s comments yesterday that he was unlikely to trigger Article 50 until a new Prime Minister in place, possibly in several months time.

Banks have started to recover losses, with the UK banking index and the life insurance index rising 2.3 percent and 2.8 percent respectively.

Toyota recalls 4 million cars

Japanese carmaker Toyota has announced the recall of over 4 million of its vehicles, due to possible faults with both the fuel emissions control units and airbags.

2.87 million vehicles worldwide may be affected by a fault with their evaporative fuel emissions control unit, covering vehicles made between 2006 and 2015. The Prius model, the Auris compact hatchback and Corolla compact models may all have issues.

Earlier the same day, Toyota also announced the need to recall 1.43 million Prius and Lexus models worldwide due to a possible defect with the airbag inflator.

29/06/2016