The big Brexit bill

Wednesday 15th January

Get straight to the good stuff every day with the Multiply Minute; a lightning-quick round-up of the money news and how it affects you.

The cost of Brexit...

Will soon surpass the cost of all payments made to the European Union budget over the past 47 years, according to calculations by Bloomberg Economics. With the UK economy missing out on 3% of growth since the referendum, the Brexit bill has already reached £130 billion, with another £70 billion expected to be tacked on by the end of 2020. The UK’s total projected contribution to the EU budget from 1973 to 2020 was £215 billion after adjusting for inflation. The figures are significant because the payments to the EU were the cornerstone of the Leave campaign’s case for Brexit.

Tech on top

Investment into UK tech startups reached an all-time high in 2019, breaking £10 billion for the first time. The buoyant market for emerging companies saw investment growth outstrip every other country in the world, including the US and China. In happy news for financial technology companies (such as yours truly) this sector saw the highest investment, with £4 billion of funding - more than double the 2018 total.

Blackrock going green

We’ll only buy your shares if you’re making moves on sustainability. That’s the message in the annual “Dear CEO” letter published yesterday (paywall) by Blackrock, the world’s biggest money manager which oversees $7 trillion in assets. The letter makes it clear that its decisions about whether to buy or sell a company’s shares will focus largely on how good that company’s environmental, social and governance practices are.

Flybe airborne again

The failing airline is back in business after agreeing to a deal with the government that will include a tax holiday and an infusion of tens of millions of pounds by its owners. The negotiations are yet to finalised but the deal will remove the immediate threat to 2,400 jobs at the carrier.