July Budget 2015: George Osborne set to push up tax thresholds but ease back on Conservative plans to slash welfare bill July 7, 2015 George Osborne will today use the first Tory Budget in 19 years to deliver on his party’s pre-election pledge to slash taxes for millions of workers. Yet the chancellor will also row back on the Conservatives’ manifesto commitment to find £12bn of savings from welfare payments by 2017-18 – instead taking an extra year to [...]
David Cameron backs transitional price cap as part of energy market shake-up after CMA report July 7, 2015 David Cameron said yesterday that he supported plans for a “transitional” energy price cap. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called for changes to be made to companies’ standard variable, or default, tariff – the tariff that energy customers pay if they have not made an “active decision” to change. The CMA said [...]
Greek debt crisis: Donald Tusk says Greece has five days to reach an agreement July 7, 2015 European Council President Donald Tusk warned Greece has just five days left to reach an agreement to save it from bankruptcy ahead of an emergency summit on Sunday involving all 28 EU members. "The stark reality is that only have five days to find the ultimate agreement," he said. "Until now I avoided talking about [...]
Will Greece be able to stop capital controls? Here are its options July 7, 2015 After voting against accepting proposals put forward by creditors in Sunday's referendum, Greeks are now facing capital controls – ATM withdrawals are limited to €60 (£43) a day. Meanwhile, suppliers are demanding businesses pay cash up front, making normal commerce impossible. Soon, the country could completely run out of cash altogether – analysts [...]
July Budget 2015: George Osborne increased welfare in coalition by £28bn. Where is it spent? July 7, 2015 Welfare is one of the big topics of the upcoming July Budget, and so it’s probably important to know where the vast sums of money go. The UK government spent £251bn on welfare payments during the financial year 2013-14, representing 37 per cent of all government spending, data released by the Office of National Statistics [...]
BBC Trust fires shot over the bows of government over licence fees for over 75s July 7, 2015 BBC director general Tony Hall insisted that the broadcaster had achieved “the right deal” yesterday, after it was confirmed that the broadcaster would start paying the licence fee for Brits over 75 from 2018. However, Rona Fairhead, the chairman of the BBC Trust, which represents licence fee payers, appeared to be less happy about the [...]
World’s third richest man Warren Buffett donates $2.84bn to five charities July 7, 2015 Warren Buffett has donated $2.8bn (£1.8bn) of shares in Berkshire Hathaway to five charities, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Read more: Warren Buffett sings Coca-Cola song, plays ukelele to shareholders The billionaire investor has made his 10th annual donation to the charities, taking his overall contribution over $21bn. Buffett, the world's third-richest person [...]
Greek debt crisis: Mario Draghi turns up the heat on banks July 6, 2015 The Eurozone’s central bank piled more pressure on Greece ahead of today’s crucial summits, by making it harder for the country’s struggling banks to access emergency loans. The move, revealed yesterday, is not expected to push any Greek banks to the brink, but was widely seen as a turning of the screws on Greece that [...]
George Osborne to overhaul Sunday trading hours in biggest shakeup for 20 years July 6, 2015 Shops and supermarkets could be allowed to open for longer on Sundays in one of the biggest shakeup of trading laws in 20 years. Chancellor George Osborne will use tomorrow’s Budget to unveil plans to devolve powers to mayors or councils to decide for themselves what the rule over trading hours should be in their [...]
George Osborne: Greek crisis could go from bad to worse July 6, 2015 Chancellor George Osborne has warned that the economic crisis in Greece has reached a “critical moment” with far-reaching consequences for the UK economy. “No-one should be under any illusions,” Osborne said yesterday in the House of Commons. “The situation risks going from bad to worse,” he added. “Britain will be affected the longer the Greek crisis [...]