Sadiq Khan pledges to spend more on London economy in election campaign launch March 4, 2021 Sadiq Khan will today launch his re-election campaign by promising to spend more of his £16bn City Hall Budget on the capital’s economic recovery, including creating a new fund to get people back to London’s West End. Khan will say in a speech later this afternoon that he will focus on “jobs, jobs, jobs” if [...]
UK PMIs: Construction activity bounces back as paused projects get green light March 4, 2021 UK construction activity bounced back in February as businesses gave the go ahead to projects that had been forced to be suspended due to the pandemic. The IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers (PMI) index for construction scored 53.2 in February, with any score above the 50-mark indicating growth. That’s markedly ahead of analyst expectations of a score of [...]
Housebuilder Vistry to double profit in 2021 as Sunak extends property tax cuts March 4, 2021 Housebuilder Vistry Group predicted that it would at least double its profit before tax over the coming financial year after a strong start to the year. As a result of the positive outlook, the firm said that it was reinstating a final dividend of 20p per share. It follows fellow builder Taylor Wimpey in reintroducing [...]
Before the Bell: Sunak’s Budget aims to boost GDP, the pain comes later March 4, 2021 Although yesterday’s UK Budget was generally well received in the international markets, with the fiscal taps to be left fully open until December, the British Pound did rally. With the major decisions pre-announced earlier this week, a big equity market reaction to the Budget speech was unlikely anyway. In addition to the extension of Covid-19 specific support, [...]
Budget 2021: Main points in Rishi Sunak’s announcement March 4, 2021 The chancellor unveiled the contents of his Budget in the Commons this afternoon, announcing a raft of new support measures alongside plans to shore up Britain’s finances in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Rishi Sunak doubled down on his commitment to do “whatever it takes” to protect lives and livelihoods as he set out [...]
Beer boss: does Rishi Sunak’s bid to save pubs go far enough? March 4, 2021 It’s been no secret that the beer and pubs industry has been calling on the Chancellor to outline concrete support for one of the UK’s most beloved and vibrant industries. Today, we can start to see some light at the end of the tunnel and welcome the Government’s support. But is it enough or should [...]
Budget 2021: Public support Sunak’s measures, according to YouGov poll March 3, 2021 Budget 2021: Public support Sunak's measures, according to YouGov poll
Gaping hole in Rishi Sunak’s budget leaves young and jobless behind March 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak made clear in today’s budget that protecting and supporting jobs remains the highest priority for the Government. This reassurance is vital. As we begin to plan for the future, the costs of the pandemic are becoming clearer and clearer. The toll will be immense and there is no group that has been as [...]
Budget 2021: Which expected policies were not announced? March 3, 2021 Rishi Sunak’s Budget was a tale of two halves, with the chancellor spending big over the next two years before implementing a series of tax rises in the years after. Many of the policies announced were already leaked days or weeks in advance, with the corporation tax rise to 25 per cent for the UK’s [...]
British Airways dives to £4bn loss as flights reduced by two-thirds March 3, 2021 British Airways (BA) fell to a £3.9bn operating loss in 2020, owner IAG revealed today, more than half of the airlines group’s total loss for the year. According to the FTSE 100 firm’s annual reports, BA’s loss dwarved that of its stablemates Aer Lingus, Iberia and Vueling. These fell to losses of €563m, €1.4bn, and [...]