UK government borrowing double than expected September 21, 2022 The UK government borrowed nearly double the amount than expected last month to fund the first stages of the cost of living care package, official figures published today show. Britain’s debt pile swelled £11.8bn in August, much higher than the country’s official forecaster, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), projected £6bn at the March budget, [...]
Home buyers warned cut in stamp duty will lead to big jump in monthly mortgage bills September 21, 2022 Home buyers could end up paying much bigger monthly mortgage bills if the government goes ahead and scraps or cuts stamp duties. Ahead of Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini-budget on Friday, The Times reported that radical plans to cut stamp duty are in the pipeline as part of efforts to boost economic growth. Downing Street refused [...]
Will the UK lead the way in embracing crypto assets and blockchain? September 17, 2022 Sean Kiernan discusses the challenge of finding a balance between regulation and opportunity for the UK and crypto.
Bankers’ bonus cap could be scrapped by Kwasi Kwarteng September 14, 2022 The bankers’ bonus cap, which limits the pay of top City and Canary Wharf executives, could be scrapped by new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng. The cap, which was brought in as part of EU-wide efforts after the financial crisis, has long been criticised as an anti-competitive stranglehold on the capital’s competitiveness. Kwarteng wants to scrap the [...]
Assault on ‘profiteering’ green energy firms misses the point entirely September 14, 2022 The European Commission’s assault on energy providers of all stripes yesterday has been coming. Thanks to the byzantine structure of the energy market, the biggest winners of gas prices going through the roof have been electricity producers who source their fuel from alternatives. The European Commission wants to stop them raking it in whilst gas [...]
Square Mile lobby urges new City minister to push through Brexit reforms September 13, 2022 New City minister Andrew Griffith must push forward with the government’s plan to reform the UK’s financial services rulebook post-Brexit, the industry’s leading business group has said. TheCityUK today congratulated the ex-Sky executive on his appointment and called on the Treasury to ensure the UK is a “well-regulated, open and competitive place to do business”. [...]
Ex-minister says Kwarteng was right to sack Treasury’s top civil servant September 13, 2022 Kwasi Kwarteng was right to sack the Treasury’s top civil servant and his exit was a “cause for celebration”, according to a former Treasury minister. Former fraud minister Lord Theodore Agnew said the sacked Treasury permanent secretary Tom Scholar was the embodiment of “the malign influence of the Treasury orthodoxy”. Kwarteng has immediately tried to [...]
What can Sunak-friendly fintech expect under Truss? September 12, 2022 Some fintech bosses are reconsidering what a Truss leadership may mean for the sector.
Keep momentum behind capital markets reform, Kalifa tells PM September 12, 2022 Ministers must keep the “continuity” and “momentum” behind capital markets reform in order to cement the UK’s standing as a global financial powerhouse, the author of a major government-commissioned review of fintech has warned.
Economists warn UK to face blackouts under Liz Truss energy plan September 8, 2022 Economists today warned prime minister Liz Truss’s decision to freeze energy bills for everyone in the UK at £2,500 raises the risk of blackouts. Experts at the economic think tank the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said energy supplies may run dry due to the government propping up energy spending. “Households, businesses or governments… will [...]