Electricity bills set to climb this winter as National Grid increases capacity to avert blackouts July 15, 2015 Electricity bills are set to rise, after National Grid was forced to fork out £36m to guard against possible power outages across the UK this winter. The company, which manages the UK’s power transmission network, has bought 2.56 gigawatts of extra power, after power station closures left the country at risk of blackouts. Before [...]
Npower, EDF Energy, E.On UK, Scottish Power and SSE to follow British Gas price cuts July 15, 2015 Analysts forecast last night that Britain’s remaining big five energy groups will quickly follow British Gas and cut gas prices for a further 28m households. British Gas, owned by Centrica, yesterday cut gas bills by five per cent – the second reduction in six months. The cut will come into effect for its [...]
Greece votes for more austerity to stay in euro July 15, 2015 The Greek parliament early this morning voted in favour of the deal that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accepted, after gruelling talks in Brussels earlier this week, in order to start progress on a third bailout. The final tally of 229 to 64 in favour of the deal was decisive, yet many of the “No” [...]
Greek debt crisis: George Osborne backtracks on Athens loan pledge as EU readies aid July 15, 2015 The Treasury is preparing to co-operate with Europe over a short-term loan to Greece – but only if the cash is guaranteed – in an embarrassing about-face for chancellor George Osborne who on Tuesday promised not to offer bailout funds to aid Athens. A Treasury source said the European Commission was now proposing ways [...]
Challenger banks face an uphill battle as George Osborne widens levy net July 15, 2015 The heads of the UK’s fast-growing crop of challenger banks were entitled to reach for a stiff lunchtime drink as they absorbed the first Conservative Budget for two decades last week. At a stroke, George Osborne’s decision to impose a super-tax on industry profits above £25m undermined everything he has said about broadening competition [...]
In photos: Riots erupt in Greece as Alexis Tsipras urges MPs to back bailout July 15, 2015 Anarchist protestors and Greek riot police clashed violently outside the Athens parliament while MPs gathered inside to vote on reforms demanded by its creditors in its bailout package. Read more: Referendum spurs Greek job hunters to search abroad… and the UK is a favourite Stones and molotov cocktails were thrown at Greek police and a [...]
European Banking Authority agrees key features of 2016 EU-wide stress test July 15, 2015 The biggest banks in Europe will soon face more stress tests to ensure they are in a position to weather any further storms in the financial markets following the global financial crisis. The European Banking Authority (EBA) has agreed some key elements of an EU-wide stress test due to take place in 2016, based on [...]
Iran nuclear deal: From oil prices to GDP, how have sanctions affected the country? July 15, 2015 After nine years of negotiations between Iran and leaders from the snappily-titled "P5 +1" nations – the US, the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany – agreed yesterday to lift sanctions on Iran. But what does that mean for the country's economy? Sanctions were first applied to Iran in 1979, after the storming of the [...]
Women’s confidence in fair pay plummets as fewer women than men expect a pay rise July 15, 2015 Women are far less likely than men to expect a pay rise in the next year. Just 27 per cent of women feel “confident” that they will get a raise within the next 12 months, compared to 40 per cent of men, according to a new survey from careers website Glassdoor. Overall, expectations of a [...]
Where can you earn most? Wages grow fastest in Northern Ireland, Wales and North East – but London still has the highest salaries July 15, 2015 Yes, wages are still highest in London – but the capital isn’t where salaries are growing fastest. Wage growth is higher than it’s been for five years, showed fresh labour market statistics released by the Office for National Statistics today. This is far from evenly split, however. Those working in Northern Ireland, the North East [...]