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: Government to guarantee five per cent mortgages on homes up to £600,000 March 3, 2021 The government will introduce a new scheme that will allow individuals to put down just a five per cent deposit on homes valued up to £600,000. From April, the government will introduce a the scheme that will provide a guarantee to lenders across the UK that offer mortgages to people with a deposit of five [...]
Budget 2021: As it happened March 3, 2021 Live updates and links to all our coverage, reactions and analyses as the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers the government’s Budget later today – at 12.30pm. Please also visit our dedicated Budget 2021 Hub. Wrap-up of the main Budget announcements Here’s a wrap-up of the main announcements made by the chancellor in his spring Budget: [...]
Stamp duty holiday: Property industry welcomes extension but calls for long-term reform March 3, 2021 Developers and property industry experts have welcomed the Chancellor’s extension of the stamp duty holiday but urged the government to fully reform the tax in the future. Rishi Sunak this afternoon confirmed that the higher stamp duty threshold of £500,000 will remain in place until 30 June – an extension of the original 30 March [...]
The Week Ahead: March kicks off with the Budget, Aviva, Zoom and Vroom March 1, 2021 March has arrived and City A.M. looks at what the first week of this month has in store. First of all, of course, there is the Budget this Wednesday. It’s the most important week of the year for Chancellor Rishi Sunak as he outlines the outlook for the UK economy over the next few months. He [...]
Budget 2021: Chancellor set to unveil mortgage guarantee scheme February 27, 2021 The Chancellor will use Wednesday’s Budget to unveil a new mortgage scheme aimed at getting tens of thousands of people onto the property ladder. Under the new programme, first time or current homeowners looking to buy a house of up to £600,000 will need a deposit of just five per cent to secure a mortgage. [...]
Anas Sarwar elected new leader of Scottish Labour party February 27, 2021 Anas Sarwar has this morning been announced as the new leader of the Scottish Labour party after defeating Monica Lennon in a snap election. The vote was triggered when former leader Richard Leonard stepped down in January, saying it was in the best interests of the party. Sarwar’s election comes just three months before elections [...]
Porsche 911 Carrera S review: why the manual gearbox still matters February 26, 2021 The Porsche 911 is one of the few sports cars still offering a traditional manual gearbox. Is it better than the paddle-shift PDK?
Kalifa Review: Others waiting for UK fintech’s ‘crown to slip’ February 26, 2021 The head of the much-awaited government-backed review into the fintech industry has warned the UK risks falling behind if recommendations aren’t quickly implemented. Former head of payments firm Worldpay Ron Kalifa led the review published today which sets out plans to capitalise on the growing fintech industry. The scope of the review is large, ranging [...]
Extending the stamp duty holiday won’t avoid a cliff-edge, it will make the eventual fall steeper February 24, 2021 The stamp duty holiday created a bloated and false economy in the housing market; it’s time to scrap the policy, not extend it. Rishi Sunak introduced the policy last summer. The idea was simple enough – add a bit of fuel to the property market and stoke consumer spending by only making buyers cough up [...]