Budget: Chancellor abolishes lifetime pension allowance saying ‘no one should be pushed out of the workforce for tax reasons’ March 15, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt has abolished the pension lifetime allowance and increased the annual tax free pension allowance by 50 per cent to £60,000 a year. The measure was one of several unveiled in the Budget and aimed at encouraging an estimated 3.5m people of pre retirement age back into the workforce. Hunt said: “Turning 50 [...]
Strikes: Over 1,000 local BBC TV and radio journalists begin 24-hour walkout over proposed cuts to service March 15, 2023 BBC services face disruption as staff begin a 24-hour strike in protest against proposed cuts to the broadcaster’s local radio output. Around 1,000 journalists are expected to walk out on Wednesday, as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt delivers his Spring Budget, prompting changes to the local TV and radio schedule in England. Around 25 journalists left Broadcasting [...]
Credit Suisse and European bank stocks tumbling: How bad is it? March 15, 2023 Credit Suisse and a host of other European stocks have all suffered significant falls in Tuesday morning trading. The embattled Zurich lender took a blow after the chair of the Saudi National Bank, its largest shareholder, said he would not put additional capital in the firm if required. That built on further concerns in the [...]
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury benefits as Brits turn to books as affordable treat in cost of living crunch March 15, 2023 People turning increasingly to books as an affordable hobby in the cost-of-living crisis has helped Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury hike its full-year profit outlook. The group – which is also the publisher behind Bake Off star Paul Hollywood’s latest cookbook Bake – said it was seeing surging demand for titles in print, ebook and audio, [...]
Freefall: Credit Suisse potentially ‘next shoe to fall’ as bank contagion fears spread across Europe March 15, 2023 Shares in Credit Suisse tanked today after one of its main shareholders ruled out providing new funding to the embattled lender prompting a major sell-off in the wider European banking sector. Credit Suisse shares traded as much as 30 per cent down earlier on Wednesday, and are now trading around 23 per cent lower. Banking [...]
After US drone hit by Moscow plane, RAF and German air force intercept Russian aircraft in Nato exercise March 15, 2023 The RAF and German air force carried out their first joint Nato air policing scramble as pilots carried out a routine interception of a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace. The response on Tuesday saw the pair of British and German Typhoon jets react to a Russian air-to-air refuelling aircraft, after it failed to [...]
Silicon Valley Bank: Start-ups welcome the warm embrace of Britain’s big banks March 15, 2023 The collapse of SVB UK is causing start-ups to reevaluate their banking priorities, Charlie Conchie writes Among the backslapping jubilation of HSBC’s rescue swoop on Monday morning, a singular voice fired a sour warning into the ether. Loss-making start-up the Bank of London had over the weekend launched a bid to buy Silicon Valley Bank’s [...]
Gary Lineker scolds Tory MP over claim BBC host called northern voters ‘racist bigots and Nazis’ March 15, 2023 Gary Lineker has described accusations that he called northern voters “racist bigots” as “outrageous and dangerously provocative”. The recently reinstated Match Of The Day host took to Twitter once again in response to comments made by Conservative MP Jonathan Gullis. During an interview with Channel 4 News, Mr Gullis said he was not concerned with [...]
Rail strikes dent Trainline ticket sales as firm nursed £6m hit every day March 15, 2023 Online rail ticketing business Trainline has said annual ticket sales fell short of expectations, as rail strikes left it nursing a hit of up to £6 million a day. The group said ongoing industrial action on UK railways cost it £5 million to £6 million in gross sales impact on average per strike day. It [...]
Budget: Energy bills to drop £1,000 by July but will not fall below £2,000 by October March 15, 2023 Cornwall Insight has unveiled its price cap predictions ahead of the Budget, raising expectations of a sharp fall in energy bills.