OBR: April furlough extension will cost further £3bn December 22, 2020 The Chancellor’s decision to extend the furlough scheme an extra month will cost an extra £3bn, according to new official figures. Rishi Sunak has extended the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme until the end of April, one month later than had been originally planned. Sunak also announced that the Government’s three loan schemes would be extended [...]
Royal Mail settles industrial dispute over pay and operational changes December 22, 2020 Royal Mail has reached an agreement with its largest union, the Communication Workers Union after a two year dispute over strategy and pay. “Royal Mail and CWU have committed to rebalance our focus and resources from the declining letters to the rapidly growing parcels marketing, creating a more efficient business that is better aligned to [...]
Germany bans UK travellers until January 6 amid mutant strain fears December 22, 2020 Germany has gone further than other EU countries in barring UK travellers until January 6 amid fears of the new Covid-19 mutation. EU countries put in place a temporary ban yesterday until midnight tonight after PM Boris Johnson warned a new strain found in the UK was more easily transmissable. Read more: All EU countries [...]
Some 1,500 trucks stacked up at Dover as chaos continues December 22, 2020 There are now around 1,500 lorries parked up in side streets, on motorways and in laybys as chaos continues at the port of Dover. On Sunday France made a surprise decision to shut its border with the UK, in an attempt to stop a new, more infectious variant of the coronavirus spreading through the country. [...]
Control or catastrophe? Farage, fortune, freedom and a £199 subscription December 22, 2020 For the small price of £199 a year, promises Nigel Farage, you can “take back control” of your finances. Gold, real estate trusts, even a crypto revolution – all are tickets to an independent financial future, all stamped with the Brexit Party founder’s seal of approval. Or, at least, that’s the idea. But the jury [...]
Why now is the time to stand up for British farming December 22, 2020 The farming sector has been challenged. Huge surges in demand at the peak of the pandemic for products such as minced beef (to account for the rise in batch cooking) have been matched by extremely low demand for more premium cuts usually reserved by restaurants, impacting the value farmers received for their livestock. Read more: [...]
Exclusive: Banks failing to prioritise the climate will lose customers, survey shows December 22, 2020 Customers are expecting more from their banks when it comes to climate change and could lose out to more green competitors if they fail to prioritise the environment. Some 71 per cent of UK banking customers are more likely to choose a bank with a positive social and environmental impact, according to new research from [...]
Risk on or risk off? December 22, 2020 The next stage As expected, risk off tone dominated the price action as market participants reacted to the news of an aggressive spread of a new strain of coronavirus out of the UK, as well as further tensions between the EU and the UK ahead of the Brexit deadline. As a result, GBP was hit [...]
UK firms’ profits collapse by a fifth in November as lockdown bites December 22, 2020 UK businesses saw profits fall by an average of 20 per cent year-on-year in November, according to a respected business tracker. The Opinium/Cebr tracker tallies with other indicators suggesting that the economic recovery has at best stalled and perhaps even reversed in the last quarter of the year. Read more: UK borrowing figures are third [...]
FTSE 100 bounces back as investors absorb impact of mutant strain December 22, 2020 The FTSE 100 inched into the green on Tuesday even as the prospect of another national lockdown loomed amid concerns of a new strain of coronavirus. London’s blue-chip index opened 0.43 per cent lower to 6,388 points before bouncing back to trade up 0.35 per cent by 9.30am. The more domestically focused FTSE 250 is [...]
