Interview: IoD’s new chief economist delivers damning verdict on Tory tax hikes October 4, 2021 After just a month or so into the job, the freshly appointed chief economist of the organisation that represents British business leaders is wasting no time in weighing in on the ails of the UK economy, shooting down one area in particular – tax. Kitty Ussher of the Institute of Directors (IoD) has slammed the [...]
City tilts toward tackling climate change October 4, 2021 Over half of City firms have put climate change at the top of their list of priorities, compared to just a third last year. 59 per cent of UK financial institutions have made addressing climate change the key issue driving their strategic agenda, according to research by Lloyds Bank. One in three financial firms saw [...]
London markets look to put soggy week behind them October 4, 2021 Investors will be looking to put what was a soggy end to last week behind them today and kick off a fresh week in positive fashion. The FTSE 100 tumbled 0.84 per cent to 7,027.07 points last Friday as markets sweated over the global economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis stalling after Wall Street registered [...]
Exclusive: Chronic HGV driver shortage to persist as successful tests plummet October 4, 2021 The chronic shortage of HGV drivers plaguing the UK economy will not end anytime soon, according to exclusive data obtained by City A.M.. Some 16,000 people passed their HGV vocational driving test this year, down from the annual average of 42,000 in the previous five years. The depressed levels of people passing their HGV test [...]
Stanlow oil refinery owner headed for crunch strike action talks October 3, 2021 The bosses of a key supplier of oil to Britain are headed for crunch negotiations with unions this week in a bid to prevent strike action. Brothers Ravi and Shashi Ruia, who run Essar Oil UK, which owns the Stanlow oil refinery, the UK’s second largest oil refinery, are entering talks with Unite chiefs to [...]
Sunak mulling emergency Covid-19 loan scheme extension October 3, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to extend the Covid-19 emergency loan scheme in a bid to support businesses amid intensifying cost pressures and severe worker shortages. Officials at the Treasury are reportedly mulling extending the Recovery Loan Scheme, which is set to end on December 31, according to reports in the Daily Telegraph. The extended [...]
Sunak and Johnson strike deal to wean government off borrowing October 3, 2021 Prime minister Boris Johnson and chancellor Rishi Sunak have brokered a deal to wean the government off borrowing to finance spending. Any new spending announced at the upcoming budget and spending review must be financed by reductions in spending elsewhere or tax hikes, Johnson has reportedly agreed to. The news was first reported by The [...]
London markets tumble after US stocks register worst month since March 2020 October 1, 2021 London’s FTSE 100 tumbled on the closing day of the week as investors sweated over the global economic recovery from the Covid-19 crisis stalling after Wall Street registered its worst month since March 2020. The capital’s premier index slid 0.94 per cent to 7,019.90 points. The spectre of rising costs eating into margins, rate hikes [...]
Eurozone inflation ratchets up to 13-year high October 1, 2021 Inflation in the Eurozone soared to a 13-year high last month, posing more headaches for the European Central Bank. Prices in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose to 3.4 per cent annually in September from 3 per cent a month earlier, the highest reading since September 2008. The inflation clip came in ahead of [...]
‘Stagflation’ fears mount as UK manufacturing hit by shortages October 1, 2021 Chronic shortages of materials caused by supply chains buckling under the weight of a resurgence in global demand are intensifying the spectre of “stagflation” looming over the UK economy. A sharp slowdown in growth in Britain’s manufacturing industry has prompted Rob Dobson, director at IHS Markit, a producer of a closely watched economic survey, to [...]