Chair of competition watchdog steps down after Labour intervention

The chair of the competition watchdog has been forced to step down after an intervention by Labour ministers, as they try to send a pro-growth message to businesses gathered at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos.The business department confirmed that the Competition and Markets Authority chair, Marcus Bokkerink, was stepping down on Tuesday evening, just two years after being appointed. Most CMA chairs are expected to serve for up to five years.One government source said it was no coincidence that Bokkerink was pushed out days after the CMA was hauled into Downing Street for a meeting with the chancellor, Rachel Reeves, and the business secretary, Jonathan Reynolds.The business department said that Reynolds had “accepted” Bokkerink’s resignation, and had appointed former Amazon UK boss Doug Gurr will as CMA chair in the interim “in a bid to boost growth and support the economy”

Zelenskyy says Russia-Ukraine peace deal would require 200,000 allied troops

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that “at least 200,000” allied troops would be needed to enforce any peace deal in Ukraine as he urged Europe to “take care of itself” as Donald Trump returns to power in the US.Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Zelenskyy said European leaders should not ask themselves what Trump would do next, and said that they instead needed to take collective steps to defend their continent at a time when it was under aggressive attack by Russia.“Europe must establish itself as a strong, global player, as an indispensable player,” the Ukrainian president said. He cited the involvement of North Korean troops in Moscow’s war against Kyiv, with fighting taking place in the Kursk region of western Russia, close to Ukraine’s eastern border.“Let’s not forget there is no ocean separating European countries from Russia

Centrica may close UK’s largest gas storage site. Is the energy system really ready? | Nils Pratley

Monday was another of those dunkelflaute days when the wind barely blows, the sun doesn’t shine and it’s cold. At times, gas-fired power stations were generating 70% of the UK’s electricity while windfarms and solar facilities were contributing as little as 7% combined.It was a reminder of why, even under the government’s rapid programme to decarbonise the electricity grid by 2030 by expanding renewables, the current gas-fired capacity of 35GW will be retained as backup. The fossil-fuelled plants may stand idle most of the time – they are scheduled to account for only “up to 5%” of generation over a full year in 2030, versus 34.7% in 2023 – but, when they’re needed, they will sometimes still be operating at full pelt

‘Animal spirits alive’ as Wall Street bankers anticipate Trump boom

Wall Street bankers say they are at the beginning of “go mode” as they expect Donald Trump’s return to the White House to lead to a boom in the industry.Trump’s second term is expected to result in a bonfire of regulations, including across financial services, with the president having promised during his election campaign to slash 10 existing regulations for every new one created in an attempt to spur economic growth.It has buoyed spirits across the banking sector, where bosses have long bemoaned tougher rules introduced after the 2007-08 banking crisis which brought the global financial system to the brink.“Time will tell, but a lot of this is exactly what you would do to have a very pro-business environment,” JP Morgan’s head of asset and wealth management, Mary Callahan Erdoes, told a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.She said US banks were “in the beginning of go mode” and that “animal spirits are alive” across Wall Street, given that looser regulation is expected to prompt a wave of dealmaking that could benefit investment banks

Davos day one: German chancellor Scholz says Putin must not win Ukraine war, as Greenpeace protesters disrupt WEF – as it happened

Olaf Scholz, Federal Chancellor of Germany, is addressing the World Economic Forum now.Scholz has taken a break from campaigning in the German election to visit Davos.He begins by reminding delegates that the path to prosperity leads through strong and stable institutions.He hit out at “black and white thinking” that promises simple solutions, but cannot deliver them.Scholz says the world needs clarity and steadfastness, particularly on peace and security

Reeves bids to intervene in car finance case that could cut lenders’ £30bn bill

The chancellor, Rachel Reeves, has launched a rare bid to intervene in a supreme court hearing in the car finance commission scandal that could reduce the £30bn-plus compensation bill lenders currently face.Shares in Lloyds and Close Brothers, two of the biggest providers of motor finance, surged on Tuesday after the Treasury submitted an application to the court arguing it should be able to contribute evidence in a case that could “cause considerable economic harm” and make car loans harder to get and more expensive.The Treasury submission on Monday added that the case might “generate a perception that regulation in the UK is uncertain”. The letter, first reported by the Financial Times, also warned judges that “any remedy should be proportionate to the loss actually suffered by the consumer and avoid conferring a windfall”.The Finance and Leasing Association, which represents car lenders ranging from large high street banks such as Barclays to the finance arms of manufacturers such as Ford and Volkswagen, also applied to intervene in the case