SSE profits soar in line with energy prices as windfall tax expansion looms November 16, 2022 Energy giant SSE reported a 221 per cent surge in pre-tax profits for the first half of the year today on the back of spike in gas and electricity prices this year.
Appease the markets and his own party? Jeremy Hunt has a frightful task November 16, 2022 Tomorrow, Jeremy Hunt needs to deliver a plan that both wins the confidence of the city – and the financial markets – and is politically palatable. This comes off the back of a narrative which has converged around terms like “black holes” and “difficult decisions”. The emerging theme is that there is a gap in [...]
Rishi Sunak: City should show ‘restraint’ on pay – but no u-turn on banker bonuses November 15, 2022 Rishi Sunak said Britain’s top business bosses needed to show ‘restraint’ on pay this year amid inflation concerns. “In a situation like this, I’m sure executives of most companies will be thinking about pay settlements for senior management, for their workers, and making sure they are fair,” the Prime Minister told broadcasters whilst in Bali [...]
UK loses over half a million work days to strikes and unions signal more to come November 15, 2022 The number of working days lost to strike action in the UK over the summer topped 560,000, stats out today reveal, and unions have warned this year’s total could hit the highest yearly number this century. The combined September and August figure is the highest two month total in over a decade, according to the [...]
Workers’ real pay erodes at historic pace despite huge wage rises November 15, 2022 Workers’ pay is still being eroded at a historic pace by rampant inflation despite employers hiking wages by one of the greatest amounts since records began, official figures revealed today. When taking off the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) preferred measure of inflation, pay excluding bonuses dropped 2.7 per cent over the last three months, [...]
Without Brexit, there would never have been a harsh austerity Budget this week, says BoE veteran November 15, 2022 The real reason Britain is facing harsh austerity measures is the UK’s departure from the EU, according to a senior economist. Former Bank of England interest rate policy maker Michael Saunders said that Brexit has ‘permanently damaged’ the UK’s economy. “The UK economy as a whole has been permanently damaged by Brexit,” said Saunders, who [...]
Ninety One suffers slump in assets as volatility hits November 15, 2022 London-listed asset manager Ninety One said it had suffered an eight per cent slump in its assets in the first six months of the year as its holdings were rocked by rising interest rates and soaring inflation.
Price of independence: Scots warned breaking away from UK may mean 20 per cent cut in income November 15, 2022 Crashing out of the Pound Sterling in the wake of an independence vote would cost the average Scottish household 20 per cent of their income, according to new analysis published today. The findings set out how the introduction of a new Scottish currency would hike the cost of imports, increase debt costs and lead to [...]
Defence giant BAE Systems secures £28bn worth of orders so far this year November 15, 2022 BAE Systems, one of the largest defence companies in the UK, has secured £10bn worth of orders in the second half of this year so far. The London-listed defence firm, which builds military-grade jets, submarines and satellites, has kept its guidance in place while many businesses in the UK nudge them lower amid the economic [...]
Hunt readies for biggest budget since Cameron and Osborne’s first outing November 15, 2022 Thursday’s budget (okay, Autumn Statement) is the biggest since David Cameron and George Osborne’s first statement in 2010, just after they seized the keys to number 10 (with a little help from the Liberal Democrats) from Gordon Brown’s Labour. Chancellor Jeremy Hunt faces a daunting task. Weaker than expected economic growth, high inflation and a [...]