Spotlight on SPACs: more risk than opportunity? March 1, 2022 | City Talk It is never a good idea to invest in a SPAC just because someone famous sponsors or invests in it or says it is a good investment. While special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have been around for decades, they have attracted unprecedented interest and investment since the first wave of Covid-19. Amid this recent boom, entrepreneur Richard [...]
Households hunker down finances as they brace for worsening cost of living crunch March 1, 2022 Households are hunkering down their finances in preparation for the cost of living crunch to tighten, reveals official data published today. Brits cut back on spending last month and channeled money into their savings accounts to offset a future deterioration in their budgets caused by soaring inflation. Households added £7.8bn to their savings accounts last [...]
London’s top indexes edge higher as investors mull next Russia-Ukraine developments March 1, 2022 London’s top indexes jumped this morning as investor fears over the potential fallout of economic sanctions levelled against Russia tempered. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index added 0.2 per cent to rise to 7,473.42 points, while the domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, edged down 0.07 [...]
Reforming fiscal regime is no taxing issue March 1, 2022 Amid the surplus of analysis devoted to improving the UK tax system, debate over whether the government’s current and future level of spending sometimes slips by. With interest rates expected to climb as the Bank of England leans even further into hawkish policy and inflation already hitting near 30-year highs, the cost of borrowing will [...]
CBI: Permanent investment relief needed to unlock economic growth March 1, 2022 Creating a permanent tax relief on business investment will unlock a well of productivity hidden in the UK economy, according to Britain’s biggest business group. The government should strengthen incentives for businesses to ramp up capital spending by using the super deduction as a model to create a permanent investment scheme, the Confederation of British [...]
Destruction of Russian-focused stocks leads London’s top indexes lower February 28, 2022 A NEAR destruction of Russian exposed London-listed stocks held the City’s top index lower today in a wild day of trading on the Square Mile. The capital’s premier FTSE 100 index lost as much as 1.4 per cent during the morning, before finishing down 0.42 per cent at 7,458.25 points. Meanwhile, the domestically-focused FTSE 250 [...]
Russia’s economy plunges into chaos as Western sanctions bite February 28, 2022 Russia’s economy has been plunged into chaos after Western sanctions triggered a collapse in the country’s currency today. The value of the rouble tumbled as much as 30 per cent against the dollar today, dropping to its lowest ever level against the global currency benchmark. The sharp and sudden weakening in the rouble prompted Russia’s [...]
Brits’ inflation expectations climb to record high piling pressure on BoE to launch more rate hikes February 28, 2022 Britons’ expectations for inflation in a decade’s time is running at a joint record high, heaping further pressure on the Bank of England to continue its rate hike cycle. Households think the cost of living will land at 4.1 per cent in ten years’ time, up from 3.8 per cent last month, the joint highest [...]
UK inflation to trend higher as firms hoist prices amid cost barrage February 28, 2022 Inflation will trend even higher in the coming months driven by UK businesses lifting prices to cope with intensifying wage pressures, reveals a fresh survey published today. Nearly half of firms are expecting to hike pay at least one per cent over the coming year, leading to them raising prices to protect margins, according to [...]
Soft skills can boost workers’ earnings £6,000, study reveals February 28, 2022 Workers that have a deeper skill set are able to command a near £6,000 salary premium in the jobs market, reveals new research published today. Low levels of skills among the UK population is stopping workers from accessing a £280,000 lifetime earning boost, according to research carried out by YouGov and the Skills Builder Partnership [...]