Lloyds Banking Group has set aside an extra £350m to cover payment protection insurance (PPI) claims March 10, 2017 Lloyds Banking Group has set aside an extra £350m to cover payment protection insurance (PPI) claims, the lender announced this afternoon. The bank said the additional provision has been made because the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released a revised PPI policy statement on 2 March. The City watchdog announced a new deadline date for PPI complaints last [...]
Easter and summer flights strike chaos ahead as over 1,000 flights are cancelled from French air traffic control walkout March 10, 2017 There are fears this week's French air traffic control strike could be the start of the next wave of action disrupting Easter and summer flights and causing chaos for passengers. When the five-day strike by staff at control centres in Brest, Bordeaux and Marseilles comes to a close later today, 1,500 flights are expected to have been cancelled, [...]
Mars says chocolate prices will rise after Brexit if the UK doesn’t get a good trade deal March 10, 2017 Those with a sweet tooth should look away now. For the global president of Mars has warned that chocolate prices could rise if the UK doesn't secure a good trade deal after Brexit. Fiona Dawson said the absence of a deal with EU member states would mean tariffs of up to 30 per cent for [...]
Rate hike on the way? Non-farm payroll figures show US jobs smashed expectations in February March 10, 2017 New job openings in the US were even stronger last month, hitting 235,000 – up from the surprisingly high 227,000 openings posted in the month before. The figure smashed expectations of 200,000 jobs – however, average hourly earnings disappointed, rising 0.2 per cent, compared with the 0.3 per cent expected. Unemployment stuck at 4.8 per cent. [...]
Niesr: UK GDP grew by 0.6 per cent in the three months to the end of February March 10, 2017 The UK economy grew by 0.6 per cent in the three months to the end of February, according to the latest estimates from the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (Niesr). This follows GDP growth of 0.8 per cent in the three months ending in January. Niesr has projected GDP growth of two per cent [...]
The Cambridge Satchel Company may be forced to close stores due to business rates March 10, 2017 The Cambridge Satchel Company may have to close two out of six of its stores when business rates rise this year. The high-end bag business has boutique outlets in the West End, Cambridge, Brighton and Edinburgh, but a hike in property taxes for the company, which comes into effect at the beginning of April, may force [...]
UK trade deficit holds steady for January as both exports and imports rise March 10, 2017 The UK’s trade deficit remained broadly flat at £2bn in January as both export and import values rose, by 0.8 and 0.6 per cent respectively. The deficit narrowed by £4.7bn to £6.4bn between the three months to January, and three months to October, though total trade balance had been revised upwards by £3.5bn after the ONS' fourth [...]
BT Openfudge? Four things you need to know about the Ofcom deal… and what the regulator says about them March 10, 2017 BT's settlement with regulator Ofcom has been championed as a significant step towards making its Openreach broadband division a separate entity, after months of debate over the subject. Today's agreement isn't quite a spin-off. Although the two will be legally separated, Openreach, the company responsible for running the majority of the UK's telecoms infrastructure, will be forced to consult [...]
Competition, not price caps, is the solution to lowering Britain’s energy bills March 10, 2017 Recent weeks have seen the cost of energy bills climbing up the news and political agenda, as suppliers large and small have imposed eye-watering hikes to their standard variable tariffs. To date, four of the Big Six (EDF, E.On, Scottish Power and Npower) and several smaller suppliers have announced rises of up to 15 per [...]
A poll shows after the Budget, the Conservatives have their strongest lead in eight years March 10, 2017 Philip Hammond's Budget speech may have led to angry headlines, but many voters shrugged off his controversial plans to hike national insurance contributions (NICs) for the self-employed, a new poll has shown. The poll, conducted by YouGov for The Times, showed 47 per cent of voters supported Hammond's decision to raise £2bn by hiking NICs for those [...]