Opinion-in-brief: Free Covid-19 tests enable personal responsibility February 17, 2022 Boris Johnson will announce his strategy to “live with Covid-19” next Monday, bringing an end to all restrictions in England. The provision of free rapid flow tests is also under review in a bid to save as much as £10bn. Johnson has put considerable effort into turning the Covid-19 strategy into a question of “personal [...]
IEA urges OPEC+ to boost oil production amid market rallies February 16, 2022 The head of the IEA Fatih Birol has called on OPEC+ to boost production to meet its agreed output targets.
Bank of England to look through weaker growth and send rates to financial crisis levels February 16, 2022 The Bank of England will look through weaker than expected economic growth this year and send interest rates to levels not seen since the financial crisis, experts are betting. Zeroing in on eradicating rampant inflation in the UK at the expense of providing a floor for the economy will drive the Bank to launch the [...]
Wales to roll out world’s most generous basic income scheme with guaranteed income of £1,600 per month February 16, 2022 Wales is to introduce what is believed to be the most generous basic income scheme ever trialled in the world. Ministers want to use the scheme to assess the impact receiving a basic income has on young people as they leave care, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. All young people leaving care who turn 18 [...]
As the energy crisis hits pockets, we need to protect our future economy February 16, 2022 Against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis, there is a growing vocal minority in the Conservative Party calling for the Prime Minister to slow down on decarbonising the British economy. The Net Zero Scrutiny Group of backbench MPs in parliament have started to grumble that the government’s net zero plans will cost too [...]
Liontrust faces shareholder rebellion over plans to hike executive salaries February 15, 2022 London-listed asset manager Liontrust is facing a shareholder rebellion over plans to hike the salaries of its C-Suite executives as Britain faces rampant inflation and a widespread cost-of-living crisis. A significant proportion of Liontrust’s shareholders are expected to vote against the asset manager’s new remuneration policy, at a specially convened general meeting tomorrow, Sky News’ [...]
Crude Awakening: The necessity of oil and gas in the green transition February 15, 2022 Oil and gas have a role to play in the energy mix of developed economies, even as the world transitions to renewable energy sources.
UK must ‘get used to’ soaring inflation eroding living standards February 15, 2022 Soaring inflation eroding Brits’ living standards is something the country needs “to get used to,” the City’s top economists warned yesterday. The alert was sparked by fresh jobs figures published yesterday indicating take home pay already being squeezed by the cost of living crisis is a sign of things to come. Real earnings slid 1.2 [...]
Explainer-in-brief: Fracking problems on the horizon for net zero February 15, 2022 The latest flashpoint over the cost of green policies has been about fracking – a way to extract natural gas and oil from shale by pumping a water mixture down into the earth. Around 30 Tory MPs and peers, including Lord Frost, are calling for the ban on fracking to be scrapped. They argue that [...]
Britain’s productivity has been battered by the scarcity of affordable homes in cities February 15, 2022 Londoners are feeling the squeeze. The Bank of England has forecast the biggest annual fall in living standards for at least three decades: energy costs are surging, and rents are going up by 5.5 per cent. The high cost of housing leads to a worse quality of life in familiar ways, through lower disposable incomes, [...]