Government on the tourist trail with new regional funding plan July 16, 2015 The Prime Minister will today announce the government’s new five point plan to boost tourism across the UK, with £15m funding available to the north and the south west of England. A group of ministers from several departments, including the Home Office and the department for business, innovation and skills, led by culture secretary John [...]
Interest rate hike decision could come “at turn of the year – Bank of England Governor Mark Carney July 16, 2015 A decision on an interest rate hike – the first since the financial crisis – will be made by policymakers at the end of the year, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said in a speech on Thursday. Read more: Sterling jumps after Carney says interest rate hike "moving closer" The UK's economic recovery has [...]
Greek crisis: George Osborne wins guarantee that UK cash used in Greek loan will be paid back July 16, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has managed to secure a guarantee on £700m of British funds that will be loaned to Greece while it continues to negotiate its bailout. Earlier this week Eurozone officials decided that tapping into a €7bn pan-EU fund called the European Financial Stability Mechanism (EFSM) would be the most viable option. However, [...]
Four key takes from the ECB’s July presser July 16, 2015 1. ECB has hiked ELA to Greece: Draghi confirmed that the European Central Bank will increase the amount of liquidity assistance available to Greek banks by €900m in one week. He said that approval of bridge financing, plus the Greek parliament's move to vote in favour of austerity rules outlined by its lenders drove the decision. [...]
Culture secretary John Whittingdale unveils green paper to look at future of BBC funding July 16, 2015 Culture secretary John Whittingdale has unveiled a green paper on the future of the licence fee, suggesting it could become a household levy of a subscription service in the long term. This comes as an independent review headed by David Perry QC found it should still be a criminal offence to not hold a TV [...]
ECB holds Eurozone interest rates July 16, 2015 The European Central Bank (ECB) kept interest rates unchanged at records lows, at a meeting of its 25-member governing council today. "At today’s meeting the Governing Council of the ECB decided that the interest rate on the main refinancing operations and the interest rates on the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility will remain [...]
MPs handed 10 per cent pay rise to £74,000 despite David Cameron’s objections July 16, 2015 The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (Ipsa) has confirmed MPs’ salaries will rise from £67,060 to £74,000 – a 10 per cent pay rise. Ipsa was set up in the wake of the expenses scandal in 2009 to monitor parliamentary expenses, and is responsible for paying salaries and expenses. The salary increase was approved despite David [...]
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 [...]
The voters aren’t stupid: David Cameron must hold his In/Out EU referendum now July 15, 2015 Between David Cameron’s election victory and his address at the recent summit in Brussels, the debate in Britain over its place in Europe has sparked into life. Polls suggest more than half the electorate support remaining in the EU. Business leaders’ views are varied, but one thing they all agree on is that prolonged uncertainty [...]