Week ahead: City braces for another Bank of England rate hike January 30, 2022 All eyes will be on Threadneedle Street this week as the City braces for another rate hike from the Bank of England. The Old Lady is widely expected to lift borrowing costs again on Thursday, marking the first time the central bank has hiked rates at successive meetings since 2004. The Bank lifted rates for [...]
Bank of England to hoist rates to highest level since 2009 January 30, 2022 Interest rates in the UK will climb to the highest level since the immediate aftermath of the financial crisis by the end of the year, City traders are betting. The Bank will reinforce its sharp policy shift to zeroing in on rampant inflation at its meeting of rate setters this Thursday after it hiked rates [...]
‘Tax-cutting Conservatives’ Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak confirm tax rise is going ahead January 30, 2022 The Prime Minister and Chancellor have doubled down on a controversial planned tax hike to boost health funding, after it was reported that Boris Johnson was “wobbling” on the policy. The PM is under pressure from some Conservative MPs to scrap or at least delay the national insurance increase to win back support as he [...]
UK tech special: The rocky but unstoppable rise in startup valuations January 30, 2022 The accelerated growth of startup valuations has sparked debate around the world, particularly in the markets where this has been reflected in the most significant raises and the speediest unicorns. Despite ongoing pandemic uncertainty, a quarter of the UK’s 116 unicorn tech companies became unicorns during 2021. Investment climbed significantly, up to £26bn in 2021 [...]
HP wins civil case against UK tech tycoon Mike Lynch as extradition order looms January 28, 2022 Hewlett-Packard has won the majority of its civil case against British tech tycoon Mike Lynch over its acquisition of Autonomy in 2011, a London judge said this morning, though damages will be considerably less than the £3.7bn claimed. The American technology giant sued Lynch, Autonomy’s founder, and its former chief financial officer Sushovan Hussain, following [...]
Sadiq Khan: London home-building ‘at risk of stalling’ amid hiked construction costs January 28, 2022 Skyrocketing construction materials are slowing house-building progress in London, Sadiq Khan has warned. The Mayor of London warned new-build developments and extension projects were being hit by a cocktail of rising costs thanks to Brexit and the pandemic. Prices for materials, including steel, timber, and concrete, shot up 23 per cent last year, according to [...]
Businesses brace for insolvency storm as Covid aid winds down January 28, 2022 Over half a million UK businesses are struggling financially amid soaring inflation and the rollback of government Covid-19 support.
Heathrow trims 2022 revenue forecast following CAA interim airfare price January 28, 2022 Heathrow has decided to reduce its revenue forecast for 2022 following the Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) decision to set the airport’s interim airfare at £30.19. In an investor report update published this morning, the hub explained 2022 revenue forecasts would now station at £2.2bn, down by £307m from the initially expected £2.5bn. Heathrow’s adjusted EBITDA [...]
What a day for Mike Lynch: Priti Patel to make extradition decision and £3.7bn High Court fraud ruling at 11.30am January 28, 2022 All eyes will be on the High Court today at 11.30, as a judge is due to announce his decision on a multibillion-dollar fraud case brought by Hewlett Packard over its acquisition of British software company Autonomy a decade ago. The American technology giant sued British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, Autonomy’s founder, and its former chief [...]
PM mulls tax hike U-turn as govt awaits Sue Gray’s report: ‘Boris would now do anything to survive’ January 28, 2022 While questions loom over the future of Boris Johnson’s premiership in light of an official inquiry into partygate allegations, the prime minister is reportedly wavering on controversial plans to raise national insurance. The PM is under pressure from some Tory MPs to scrap the tax hike to win back support as he awaits the findings [...]