Chancellor George Osborne to borrow £33bn more than expected over next five years despite boost from cheap debt March 16, 2016 Chancellor George Osborne will borrow an extra £33bn over the next five years as he ruled out making cuts to make up for a tax receipts shortfall. Weaker economic growth left Osborne with a £49bn tax receipts hole over the rest of the current parliament and £69bn gap over the next five years. Lower incomes alone will lead to a [...]
Budget 2016: Here’s how Twitter really felt about the Budget – in two perfect charts March 16, 2016 More than 100 tweets per minute were sent about the Budget and that was before George Osborne had even picked up his little red box and started speaking. Nothing else but the Budget could dominate the day on Twitter and that gives a fascinating snapshot into the mind of the nation (or, the Twitterati, at least) and how they [...]
Budget 2016: Chancellor to introduce surprise sugar tax on soft drinks in two years’ time March 16, 2016 George Osborne has announced the government will introduce a surprise new levy on the sugar drinks industry that will come into effect in two years' time. A sugar tax was widely considered to not be making an appearance in the Budget, with other strategies thought to take precedence in the government's fight against childhood obesity. Citing [...]
Budget 2016: Office for Budget Responsibility slashes UK economic growth forecast and hikes debt estimates projections March 16, 2016 The government’s fiscal watchdog has downgraded its economic growth forecast. The Office for Budget Responsibility believes the economy will grow two per cent this year, 2.2 per cent in 2017 and 2.1 per cent in each of three years after, chancellor George Osborne said today In November it forecast growth of 2.4 per cent in [...]
The most ironic thing likely to happen in today’s Budget? The Money Advice Service could be scrapped because it doesn’t provide value for money March 16, 2016 We've been told today's Budget is going to be aimed at the young – but we didn't realise it would be so… steeped in irony. But it's emerged the chancellor is set to make an announcement so, like, totally ironic, it could have come straight out of the playbook of the most tattooed of Shoreditch's natives. Yep: according [...]
UK employment maintains record high as pay growth continues to rebound March 16, 2016 The UK's employment rate remained at 74.1 per cent between November and January, the joint-highest since records began in 1971. The headline unemployment rate maintained its 10-year low of 5.1 per cent, the data released this morning by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows. There are now 171,000 fewer people unemployed than in the same period last year. [...]
Brent crude and WTI: Oil prices rise as producers announce meeting on output freeze March 16, 2016 Oil prices rose today on an upcoming meeting in Qatar to discuss freezing ouput at January levels. Brent crude, the global benchmark, rose 0.8 per cent to $39.05 per barrel this morning. Meanwhile, US West Texas Intermediate, the US benchmark, swelled by 1.2 per cent to $36.77. Opec sources told Reuters that a meeting of producers, [...]
Play along to Budget 2016 with interactive George Osborne buzzword bingo! March 16, 2016 Roll up, roll up – it’s the event we’ve all been waiting for. Chancellor George Osborne stands up to deliver his eighth Budget today. Bored of hearing the same phrases over and over? Now you can inject a bit of excitement, by roping in your friends and colleagues and playing Budget bingo at home. How to [...]
Libor scandal: Serious Fraud Office (SFO) tells Tom Hayes to hand it all over as prosecution demands convicted former UBS and Citigroup trader’s assets, including wedding rings and Surrey house March 15, 2016 Fraud squad prosecutors issued Tom Hayes with a stark ultimatum on Tuesday – that he must hand over nearly everything he owns or face more time in jail. At a hearing in the Old Bailey, the prosecution alleged that Hayes, a former UBS and Citigroup trader, was only paid as handsomely as he was because he secured [...]
Bank of Japan expected to loosen policy next month as problems with negative interest rates start to emerge March 15, 2016 Economists are betting on Japanese central bankers loosening policy further next month, but some have warned its policy of negative interest rates is already creating negative side effects. The Bank of Japan (BoJ) kept its stimulus measures unchanged this morning, keeping the annual rate of its so-called quantitative and qualitative easing (QQE) at ¥ 80 trillion [...]