Halfords calls on government to rethink scrapping of EV grant June 16, 2022 Motoring retailer Halfords has called on the government to rethink its decision to scrap the £1,500 grant for the purchase of new electric cars. The Department for Transport (DfT) announced on Tuesday it would “refocus” the funding available away from the grant to encourage other road users, including taxis and delivery vans, to make the [...]
Bank of England hikes rates for fifth time in a row and warns of 11 per cent inflation surge June 16, 2022 The Bank of England today hiked interest rates for the fifth time in a row for the first time since it was given control of monetary policy a quarter of a century ago as it pushes to cool the highest rise in living costs for a generation. A majority of the Bank’s nine rate setters, [...]
UK small businesses being priced out of cyber insurance by high premiums and cost-of-living crunch June 16, 2022 The UK’s small businesses are increasingly being priced out of cyber insurance policies, due to sky-high premiums and the cost-of-living crunch. Almost a third (29 per cent) of companies with fewer than 250 staff cancelled their cyber insurance policies last year, as part of efforts to cut costs, research from GlobalData shows. A further 17.3 [...]
Use windfall tax to improve energy efficiency of British homes, argues climate charity Ashden June 16, 2022 The government should funnel revenues from the windfall tax into making the UK's housing stock more energy efficient, says Ashden.
Government to publish renters reform bill to tackle ‘no-fault’ evictions and rent hikes June 16, 2022 The government is readying to publish its Renters Reform Bill white paper today, in a bid to tackle ‘no-fault’ evictions, rent hikes and make it easier for tenants to keep pets. The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities has described the Bill as “the biggest shake-up of the private rented sector in 30 years.” [...]
US Federal Reserve fires 75 basis point rate hike bazooka to tackle inflation June 15, 2022 The US Federal Reserve today fired a rate hike bazooka as it scrambles to tame the worst bout of inflation across the pond in recent history. Chair Jerome Powell and co lifted the world’s most important interest rate 75 basis points, the steepest rise since 1994, to between 1.5 and 1.75 per cent. The move [...]
Uber calls on rivals to offer employment benefits as Bolt faces trade union lawsuit June 15, 2022 Uber has called on its rivals to give drivers employment benefits, after one of the UK’s biggest unions said it is taking legal action against ride-hailing app Bolt over its lack of workers’ protections. Britain’s third largest trade union, GMB, is set to file legal proceedings against Bolt, in a bid to force the Estonian [...]
Dexters bets on US buyers to ride out UK’s cost of living crisis June 15, 2022 Dexters’ is “highly confident” that London’s property market will remain buoyant amid a cost of living crisis which is expected to weigh on house moving, CEO Andy Shepherd has told City A.M. today. The London real estate agent revenue has spiked more than a third over the past year, from £108.7m a year prior to [...]
Central banks must front-load rate hikes to tame inflation, Carney warns June 15, 2022 The world’s biggest central banks need to dial up the pace of rate hikes to shake inflation out of their respective economies, the former chief of the Bank of England said today. Canadian banker Mark Carney, 57, who led Threadneedle Street from 2013 to 2020, told Bloomberg that monetary authorities “need to start moving more [...]
UK mortgage arrears hit highest level in more than 12 years as debts to banks creep past record £2bn June 15, 2022 The value of mortgage arrears in the UK has reached its highest level since 2010, with £2.05bn of mortgage debt delinquent at the end of the first quarter of 2022, according to new data shared with City A.M. this morning. As interest rate rises and the cost-of-living crisis hit household finances, more families are now [...]