Drinkers pay net tax of £7bn: It’s time to stop pretending they’re a burden on taxpayers September 2, 2015 Teetotallers should raise a glass of sparkling water to Britain’s drinkers, who are subsidising the Treasury to the tune of £6.5bn a year according to a think tank. Revenues from alcohol taxes amount to over £10bn, according to official figures crunched by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA). The contribution of drinkers to [...]
Falling crude oil prices drop Canada into its first recession since 2009 September 2, 2015 Canada has officially entered a recession, after their economy shrank again in the second quarter of this year, by 0.5 per cent. Plunging oil prices were blamed for putting the country back into recession for the first time since the financial crisis, though the 0.5 per cent GDP contraction beat forecasts. Lower oil [...]
China markets make swift recovery from low open, indicating possibility of state-backed buying September 2, 2015 After a steep fall at the start of trading, Chinese markets made a rapid recovery, with the Shanghai Composite finishing just 0.2 per cent down, while the Shenzhen Composite ended just under two per cent lower. Meanwhile, the FTSE 100 opened slightly higher, rising 0.7 per cent to 6,100 points in early trading. [...]
Plastic fantastic: The next £20 note will be printed on polymer September 2, 2015 The UK's most common bank note will be printed on polymer, the Bank of England has announced. In a statement today, the Bank said the next £20 note will be printed on a “more secure, durable and cleaner material”. That decision followed “extensive research into developments in security features for notes printed on cotton-based paper [...]
The number of workers on zero-hours contracts increases 20 per cent in a year September 2, 2015 The number of people on zero-hours contracts as their main job has increased by almost 20 per cent in the past year, from 624,000 to 744,000, official figures published this morning suggested. The figure equates to about 2.4 per cent of all people in employment, up from two per cent this time last year. Women [...]
PMI: UK construction growth accelerates again in August thanks to cheaper energy September 2, 2015 The UK’s construction sector expanded at a faster pace in August, according to survey data released today. Markit’s construction purchasing managers’ index ticked up to a score of 57.3 from July’s 57.1, moving further above 50 “no change” mark. Higher levels of business activity have now been recorded in every month since May 2013 – although [...]
Mortgage lending increases on low interest rates and rising UK house prices September 2, 2015 The housing market is picking up, with homeowners looking to remortgage to take advantage of low interest rates and unlock some of the climb in property prices. The number of approvals for home purchases was 68,764 in July, compared with an average of 64,186 over the past six months. Approvals for remortgages were 38,042, also [...]
Black Cabs are offering cut-price off-peak fares to take on Uber September 2, 2015 London’s Black Cabs have launched a fightback against Uber and other app-based taxi services by offering cut-price, off-peak fares for journeys over six miles. The new prices will be up to 30 per cent lower than metered fares and can be booked through an app from Gett, an Israeli startup backed by Russia-born billionaire Len [...]
Transfer window 2015: Weak euro saves Premier League clubs up to £85m during record summer of blockbuster signings September 2, 2015 Premier League clubs may have splashed out a record £817.7m on new players this summer, but the strength of the pound means they have saved around £85m when raiding European rivals for star talent. This time last year, a pound could be exchanged for around €1.25, but for much of this summer it traded above [...]
FTSE closes three per cent lower as China outlook worsens September 1, 2015 The FTSE 100 closed more than three per cent lower, at 6,058 points, after another day of weak economic data from both China and Europe. Other European markets followed suit, with both the Cac and the Dax finishing 2.4 per cent lower. Meanwhile, US stocks also dropped, with the S&P 500 and the Dow [...]