Mark Carney points to interest rate hike at the turn of this year July 21, 2015 The Bank of England will need to decide around the turn of the year whether the time is right to start to raise interest rates from their current record low, its governor Mark Carney said last night. Carney, speaking at an event hosted by the Policy Exchange think tank, said the UK economy still faced [...]
Arbuthnot warns over higher bank tax: “This will act as a brake on challenger sector” July 21, 2015 Challenger bank Arbuthnot Banking Group yesterday warned higher taxes on bank profits will hurt lending to the real economy The firm, owner of private bank Arbuthnot Latham and half-owner of listed entity Secure Trust Bank, also called on chancellor George Osborne to calculate bank taxes on the size of their balance sheets. The [...]
Stricter visa rules to give firms headache amid skills shortage July 21, 2015 Proposed changes to rules governing who can work in the UK threaten to exacerbate the skills shortage facing employers, the head of a major recruiting body has warned. “Our data show that almost all businesses are operating at capacity and want to take on more staff to meet demand, but the reality is that chronic [...]
Treasury to cut Bank of England monetary policy committee meetings from 12 to eight July 21, 2015 If you've been getting fed up with months of MPC updates with no change – and let's face it, after six years of the same update, who isn't – then there's some good news. The number of monetary policy committee meetings is about to be reduced to just eight per year, down from 12. This [...]
Public sector borrowing falls as income tax receipts hit highest level since records began in 1997 July 21, 2015 The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said income tax receipts rose by 2.5 per cent in June to £11.5bn, the highest level since records began in 1997. Read more: July Budget 2015 at a glance At the same time, corporation tax receipts jumped 13.9 per cent to £1.7bn, also the highest amount on record. The figures, [...]
UK house prices to outstrip wages this year due to “chronic lack of properties being put up for sale” July 20, 2015 A shortage of homes is set to ensure house prices rise faster than incomes this year, a think tank has warned today. The Centre for Economics and Business Research has revised its estimate for price growth in 2015 more than three times to 4.7 per cent, up from its initial forecast of 1.5 per cent [...]
City leads UK to top spot among financial services exporters July 20, 2015 The City has helped the UK to become the biggest net exporter of financial services in the world, a new report reveals today. The UK exported $95bn (£62bn) of financial services more than it imported in 2014, according to the report from TheCityUK, a lobby group for the City. It is 4.3 [...]
George Osborne set for a grilling over new bank tax July 20, 2015 George Osborne is expected to face a grilling from MPs today over the new bank surcharge – set to be introduced next year – when he appears before a Treasury select committee for the first time since the Budget. Mark Garnier, a Conservative minister on the Treasury select committee, told City A.M. that while [...]
Greek banks dodge disaster after a last minute loan from Europe July 20, 2015 Greece averted further financial ruin yesterday after meeting a major €4.2bn (£2.9bn) payment to the European Central Bank (ECB), made possible by a loan from the EU. If Greece had missed it, the ECB was expected to completely cut off emergency lending to Greek banks, which economists said would be “D-day” for the banking system. [...]
Commodities crash to 11-year low as deflation fears grow: Latest price slump complicates backdrop for interest rate hikes July 20, 2015 Global commodity prices have slumped amid a glut of supply and low demand – and now experts are foreseeing the prospect of deflation in the West. A basket of commodities measured by the Bloomberg commodities index has fallen to an 11-year low, and the index is down 42 per cent since its peak in [...]