Government scraps three-year spending review amid Covid-19 chaos October 21, 2020 The Treasury today confirmed that a comprehensive three-year review of government spending had been ditched in favour of a one-year review because of the economic disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. “While the government would have liked to outline plans for the rest of this parliament, the right thing today is to focus entirely on [...]
London jobs market shows signs of recovery after 50 per cent hike in listings October 21, 2020 London has begun to recover from a swathe of redundancies handed out during the pandemic, with job listings in the capital hiking more than 50 per cent over the last three months, according to new research. Adverts for jobs based in London jumped 52 per cent between July and September, data from independent job board [...]
UK public borrowing unexpectedly picks up to hit record £209bn this year October 21, 2020 UK government borrowing rose unexpectedly in September, pushing the budget deficit to a new record high of just under £210bn and the total debt pile to its biggest level as a proportion of GDP since 1960. The government borrowed £36.1bn last month, according to the Office for National Statistics’s (ONS) best estimate. That comfortably beat [...]
UK airports losing £83m a week due to coronavirus October 20, 2020 The UK’s airports are losing £83m a week as a result of the coronavirus crisis, the Airport Operators Association (AOA) revealed this evening. Air travel has been decimated by the pandemic, with the collapse of passenger revenues on course to set the sector back £4.3bn this year. However, the trade body said that the real [...]
Rishi Sunak: Circuit breaker would be ‘enormously damaging’ to economy October 20, 2020 A new circuit breaker lockdown would be “enormously damaging” for the economy and the government will continue to pursue a localised Covid approach, according to chancellor Rishi Sunak. Sunak told MPs this morning that a two to three week lockdown, which Labour is recommending, would cause “unnecessary pain and suffering on those in parts of [...]
Exclusive: South London boroughs lead house price charge October 20, 2020 The south London boroughs of Merton, Croydon and Kingston saw the fastest house price growth in the year to August as the capital’s property market remained surprisingly buoyant, according to exclusive analysis by property website Zoopla for City A.M. Price growth was much slower up in Hillingdon, Barnet and Brent, however, reflecting big differences within [...]
London Metal Exchange ‘Ring’ to remain shut for six more months October 19, 2020 The London Metal Exchange’s (LME) iconic “Ring trading” floor will remain shut for six more months, it was revealed today, raising the prospect of its permanent closure. Since the 1800s, traders at the LME have shouted buy and sell orders for metals while seated around a red curricular sofa but the days of one of [...]
Number 10: Manchester hospitals will be soon overrun without Tier 3 restrictions October 19, 2020 Downing Street has said Manchester’s hospitals are weeks away from using up all their available intensive care beds if Covid infections continue at their current rate in a bid to ramp up pressure on Andy Burnham to accept Tier 3 restrictions. The Prime Minister’s spokesman told a group of journalists today that Covid cases in [...]
London hospitality industry marches on parliament – live updates October 19, 2020 Members of the London and UK hospitality industry are staging a protest on Parliament Square, urging the government to revise its policies relating to hospitality venues. Reporter Poppy Wood is down in Westminster: follow live updates and responses here. Update 11:50 Chef and restaurateur Jason Atherton tells City A.M. that “what Boris Johnson has done [...]
It’s up to the City to drive Britain’s economic recovery October 19, 2020 “The harder yards are ahead of us,” warned Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey recently, as Britain’s households and businesses brace themselves for a bitter winter in the midst of the pandemic. With the UK’s economic recovery already fragile, it is clear we need to identify the engines for growth that can weather the storm [...]