Finance Monthly November 2019 Edition

9 www.finance-monthly.com NEWS - MONTHLY ROUND-UP News You Can’t Afford to Miss EU APPROVES BREXIT FLEXTENSION, AS THE UK PREPARES FOR AN ELECTION, BUT WHAT ABOUT BUSINESS UNCERTAINTY? The President of the Euro- pean council Donald Tusk announced that the EU27 has agreed to accept the UK’s request for a Brexit flextension until 31st Janu- ary 2020, whilst the UK looks set for a 12th Decem- ber General Election. But how might another three months of uncertainty and debate affect the vital com- munity of small businesses and the investors that sup- port them? Luke Davis, CEO and Founder of IW Capital, dis- cusses the impact of the outcome on investment: “Small businesses in the UK are undoubtedly hoping for increased certainty over the Brexit deal and leav- ing date. Once the deal is confirmed the sentiment to push on with business will really be able to take off. As entrepreneurs and inves- tors look to capitalise on new opportunities that are bound to exist after Brexit. Over the last year or so, we have seen a concerted ef- fort to get on with business, regardless of Brexit and the eventual outcome.” Jenny Tooth OBE, CEO of the UK Business Angels Association, shared her views on what the delay could mean for regional businesses: “As nego- tiations continue to drag on and eat into the transition period, which was put in place to help business pre- pare for the imminent loss of EU support, we are at risk of running out of time to plan and make changes. Funding for SMEs in the re- gions has been somewhat forgotten about recently. This will subsequently im- pact regional SMEs more than larger businesses that can take the hit or areas such as London or the Golden Triangle which receive the majority of do- mestic investment. The potential loss of invest- ment from the continent including the European Regional Development Fund, Horizon 2020 and the Jeremie fund could cre- ate a huge investment gap in the UK. This is concern- ing not only for the loss of EU money but the risk that Government support for finance to replace this EU funding may take time to have an impact on the ground.” PAYPAL, EBAY, STRIPE, VISA AND MASTERCARD ABANDON LAUNCH OF FACEBOOK’S CRYPTOCURRENCY LIBRA Following the announce- ment that Facebook would be launching its own digital currency, the Libra, some of the bigger founding members ap- pear to have gotten cold feet. Seven of the origi- nal 28 founding members decided to pull out of the alliance that originally agreed to back the launch. The exits included PayPal, eBay, Stripe and financial services giants Visa and Mastercard. A reason for this could be the fact that regula- tors in Europe, specifi- cally France and Germany have vowed to block the digital currency - perhaps due to the low confidence in the efficacy of the Libra. According to The Block, a PayPal spokesperson said PayPal “made the decision to forgo further participation,” but remains supportive of Libra’s goals and will continue to ex- plore how the two firms can work together moving forward. “We remain supportive of Libra’s aspirations and look forward to continued dialogue on ways to work together in the future… Facebook has been a longstanding and valued strategic partner to Pay- Pal, and we will continue to partner with and sup- port Facebook in various capacities…”, reads the statement. In a statement, the Libra Association suggested it would weather the depar- tures. Dante Disparte, the Libra Association’s Head of Policy and Communica- tion, said: “Although the makeup of the associa- tion members may grow and change over time, the design principle of Libra’s governance and technol- ogy, along with the open nature of this project en- sures the Libra payment network will remain resil- ient”.