Government breaches another manifesto pledge by denying full triple lock uplift September 7, 2021 The government has breached another manifesto pledge and scrapped the normal functioning of the state pension triple lock, it announced today. In a statement delivered to the House of Commons today, secretary of state for work and pensions Thérèse Coffey announced the government will employ a triple lock lite, denying millions of pensioners an uplift [...]
Bank of England hawk Saunders suggests interest rates will rise in 2022 September 7, 2021 Your mortgage rate looks more likely to rise next year, according to one Bank of England rate-setter. The Bank of England may need to increase interest rates next year if the UK’s GDP recovery momentum holds and inflation becomes stickier, policymaker Michael Saunders said today. Saunders, who in August voted for an early stop to the BoE’s [...]
Johnson to defy Tory MPs and launch £10bn-a-year tax hike to fund social care and NHS September 7, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson will defy a revolt among Tory MPs and scathing criticism and plough on with a hike to national insurance to generate more than £10bn a year to tackle the swelling backlog of NHS work and fix the UK’s ailing social care system. Johnson will today announce an at least one percentage [...]
China exports soar faster than expected in August September 7, 2021 China’s exports soared at a faster pace than expected in August, driven by a resurgence in global demand for goods from the world’s second largest economy, according to new figures released today. Shipments from the globe’s biggest exporter jumped 25.6 per cent annually in August, gathering momentum from July’s 19.3 per cent gain. Analysts polled [...]
Revisiting Beta: How well has Beta predicted returns? September 7, 2021 | City Talk After the capital asset pricing model (CAPM) was developed in the 1960s and 1970s, financial researchers started to test how well this theoretical model actually worked in the real world. Amid expanding computing power and greater data access, the 1980s became a critical era for gauging CAPM’s validity as analysts explored beta’s effectiveness in anticipating [...]
Staycations and Brits socialising propel consumer spending above pre-Covid levels September 7, 2021 Surging demand for staycation holidays amid ongoing travel restrictions, supported by strong appetite among Brits to socialise during the summer months, pushed consumer spending well-above pre-Covid levels last month. Data from Barclaycard shows card spending was 15.4 per cent above the same month in 2019, before the onset of the Covid crisis. The sharp rise [...]
IoD: Hiking national insurance to pay for social care is illogical September 6, 2021 The Institute of Directors has criticised the government’s reported decision to hike national insurance to pay for social care and clearing the backlog of NHS work. The influential organisation that represents UK business leaders said using national insurance to fund social care is illogical as the levy is intended to provide a safety net for [...]
Scottish independence would be ten times worse than Brexit, warns Sturgeon economic sage September 6, 2021 An influential economic adviser to Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned the damage inflicted on the country by independence could be “Brexit times ten”. Mark Blyth, professor of international economics at the Watson Institute of Brown University in Rhode Island, and a member of Sturgeon’s council of economic advisers, said in an interview with [...]
Supply chain snarl ups pull UK construction growth down to six-month low September 6, 2021 The UK construction industry grew at the slowest pace for six months, driven by supply chain snarl ups leaving builders unable to progress work, according to a closely watched survey released today. The latest IHS Markit / CIPS UK construction purchasing managers’ index slid to 55.2 in August, down from 58.7 in July. However, the [...]
CBI chief calls for government to act urgently to clear worker shortages September 6, 2021 The chief of the Confederation of British Industry has urged the government to take drastic action to help clear severe worker shortages that have put the British economy in a vice. Tony Danker, director general at the CBI, urged the government to put HGV drivers on a list that exempts them from stricter post-Brexit immigration [...]