Isa explainer: should you go for cash or stocks & shares? February 23, 2023 Savers have just over four weeks to make the most of this year’s tax-free savings allowance. We look at the different types of ISA available and how to find the one that’s right for you. Individual Savings Accounts, or Isas, were introduced by the government to encourage more people to save and allow savers to [...]
Mark Kleinman: British Steel, Freetrade’s Future and Investment Association grumbles February 23, 2023 I wasn’t wrong a few weeks ago when I wrote here that sorting out Britain’s financially troubled steel industry would ultimately be someone other than Grant Shapps’ mess to clean up. What I didn’t anticipate then was that just a month later Kemi Badenoch would become the fourth business secretary in six months given the [...]
Rolls Royce reveals £652m profit but engineering giant continues to ‘burn through cash’ February 23, 2023 Rolls Royce, the British aero-engine manufacturer, unveiled profits of £652m in 2022, £238m higher than the previous year. The increase, which was driven by its civil aerospace and power systems divisions, also reported free cash flow of £505m versus an outflow of £1.5 billion in the prior year. Charlie Huggins, head of equities at Wealth [...]
Britain passing up £18bn economic boost due to ‘failure’ to build enough homes February 23, 2023 Britain is passing up on a near £18bn economic boost due to the government and businesses’ “failure to build enough new” homes, a former Tory housing minister has claimed today in a new report. Brandon Lewis, ex-housing and planning minister, in a foreword to a report by think tank Policy Exchange said decades of weak [...]
UK inflation will drop back to Bank of England two per cent target by end of this year, economists predict February 22, 2023 Inflation in the UK is on track to fall exactly back to the Bank of England’s target by the end of this year, according to forecasts by two top City of London economists. The rate of price increases will tumble to two per cent in the final three months of 2023, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. [...]
FCA warns firms to act now or risk falling foul of incoming consumer duty regime February 22, 2023 Firms must act now to prepare for a new consumer duty, a boss at the City regulator has said. Sheldon Mills, executive director of competition and consumers at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told firms: “You still have time to deliver. But you must act now.” Speaking at an online event hosted by Deloitte marking [...]
The Notebook: Victoria Scholar on a wave of bank results, Elon Musk, and a holiday read February 22, 2023 The Notebook is where interesting people say interesting things. Today it’s Victoria Scholar, head of investment at interactive investor, on bank results, Elon Musk and an unputdownable holiday read Bank on it? With UK banks currently reporting earnings, key themes so far have been rising interest rates, growing credit loss provisions, share buybacks, volatile financial [...]
Last orders? Pubs ‘won’t stay afloat’ without energy bill help in Spring Budget, hospitality bosses warn February 22, 2023 The hospitality sector has urged that many businesses “wont stay afloat” if the government does not look to provide extra support with soaring energy bills in its upcoming spring budget. “The steep increase in utility costs is having a significant impact on our business, it’s now one of the largest cost to manage,” Simon King [...]
Rio Tinto rocked by weaker commodity prices as it reports steep downturn in profits February 22, 2023 Higher energy costs, inflation, and downward pressure on commodity prices has weighed on profits at multinational miner Rio Tinto.
Lloyds Bank: Shares fall after bumping up ‘bad loan’ recession provisions February 22, 2023 Lloyds Bank reported that higher interest rates offset the money set aside to cope with loan defaults during the final quarter of 2022, but disappointed the market with yet more conservative guidance on net interest margin for 2023. Lloyds recorded a pretax profit of £1.8bn during the quarter, in line with company-compiled consensus and over [...]