Business says PM is giving the wrong answer on immigration June 10, 2015 Business groups roundly rejected the Prime Minister’s latest proposals to cut migration, saying they were “not the answer,” “far less business-friendly” and a “red herring” in the immigration debate. Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, David Cameron said that the independent Migration Advisory Committee (Mac) was looking at proposals to cut non-European work migration, including [...]
Heathrow or Gatwick runway expansion? Business groups slam delay over airports action June 10, 2015 Politicians must act quickly to implement the recommendations of the Airports Commission or risk being accused of dithering, business groups said yesterday, hitting out at reports that it could be early 2016 before any government action is taken. The commission, overseen by ex-City watchdog Sir Howard Davies, has been looking into the state of [...]
UK house price growth expected to surge as post-election supply bounce lacking June 10, 2015 Hopes for a post-election surge in the supply of houses to the market have failed to materialise, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said today. “Tight supply conditions continue to be a key factor underpinning prices, with fresh instructions to sell becoming increasingly sparse while average stocks per surveyor fell to a new record [...]
City jobs and pay growth boom as more workers look to move June 10, 2015 The number of City jobs new to the market shot up by 13 per cent year-on-year in May, according to figures released today by recruiters Morgan McKinley. Meanwhile, the average increase in pay for someone moving jobs was 18 per cent in May, compared with 19 per cent April. More professionals, both in an out [...]
EU in/out referendum: Labour wants Bank of England to publish the costs of Brexit June 10, 2015 The Bank of England and the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) should publish an assessment of the economic impact of Britain leaving the European Union at least 10 weeks before an in/out referendum, the Labour party has said. Labour backed the EU referendum bill at its second reading on Tuesday, but it is understood that [...]
Mansion House Speeches 2015: What do the analysts think? June 10, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney have both said their parts at the annual Mansion House speeches, but what do the analysts think? New Budget surplus rule John Cridland, director-general at CBI, says the budget plan will be good for businesses: Business wants the Government to aim for an absolute [...]
Mansion House Speech 2015: Chancellor George Osborne will start government RBS sell off as soon as possible June 10, 2015 In his annual Mansion House Speech this evening, chancellor George Osborne announced that the government will begin to sell off its stake in the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), even is it is at a loss. He said a “decision point” had been reached, and that it was in the interest of taxpayers to [...]
Bank of England Fair and Effective Markets Review: Tens of thousands more City workers to be covered by the senior managers regime June 10, 2015 The Bank of England (BoE) today unveiled a set of tough new market rules which will increase individual responsibility among banks' senior managers and lengthen jail sentences for market abuse. Read more: Why the financial system has the same qualities as cancer Recommendations from The Fair and Effective Markets Review include extending the senior managers regime [...]
Oil and gas fires up industrial production – but manufacturing output slides June 10, 2015 Industrial output rose by 0.4 per cent in April, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), beating economists' forecasts of a 0.1 per cent rise. The bumper figure was driven by mining and quarrying which rose by 5.6 per cent – and this was helped along by oil and gas extraction which [...]
George Osborne to mandate government budget surplus in the “good times” – but when was the last budget surplus? June 10, 2015 George Osborne will say tonight that he intends to force future governments to run a budget surplus in order to "prepare for an uncertain future". In a major speech in the City of London tonight, the chancellor will announce that he will enshrine in law the need for future governments to run an overall budget [...]