Millions of Brits to see annual mortgage payments rise by £5,100 by 2024 October 15, 2022 Millions of households will see their annual mortgage payments by as much as £5,100 over the next two years, according to one of the country’s top think thanks. More than five million families are set to be hit by spiralling mortgage costs by 2024, new analysis by the Resolution Foundation revealed, nearly one-fifth of all [...]
Even a complete reversal of the mini-budget won’t fill the giant fiscal hole created October 14, 2022 In August, we were promised a new Budget under the new premiership of Liz Truss. In September, it was downgraded to a mini-Budget when the Government decided not to ask the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) to mark its homework, or set out a new economic outlook. The market fallout from this disastrous decision [...]
Just Stop Oil activists throw soup at Van Gogh’s Sunflowers painting October 14, 2022 Just Stop Oil activists have thrown a can of soup at Vincent Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” masterpiece in the National Gallery this morning. The two women walked into the room in the National Gallery where the famous artwork is hung and at 11am threw the contents of two tins of Heinz Tomato soup over the painting. [...]
Sanctions on Russia are on a collision course with Europe’s green ambitions October 14, 2022 These days, Europe is seen as the weak link in the developed economic world. The European stock market is underperforming its US rival, down 22 per cent year-to-date. Even risky emerging markets are doing better. Likewise, Europe’s surging inflation rates, in countries like Germany and Spain (not to mention what the UK is going through), [...]
Tony Matharu: Meet the hotelier on a mission to get London back in full force October 14, 2022 From the floor-to-ceiling glass of suite 725 at Tony Matharu’s Tower Suites hotel on a sunny October morning, one can see flocks of tourists heading towards the Tower of London and Tower Bridge. It looks for all the world like London is back on its feet, and for Matharu, that’s no surprise. “Where we sit [...]
Ryanair chief forecasts price increase after ‘surprisingly strong’ bookings October 13, 2022 Ryanair is predicting an increase in prices following “surprisingly strong” bookings, according to chief executive Michael O’Leary. O’Leary said that – despite recent forecasts of 3-4 per cent growth – air fares “will rise by a mid to high single digit figure for the full year” unless alarming reports on Covid and Ukraine come out. [...]
Boris Johnson pockets £150k in 30 mins as former PM skips crucial Commons vote to jet off to Colorado October 13, 2022 Former prime minister Boris Johnson touched down in the USA on Tuesday as the ex-Tory leader gave a speech to an insurance industry group on Tuesday afternoon, thereby reportedly collecting around £150,000 for a 30 mins speech. Johnson addressed conference delegates in Colorado Springs, roughly at the same time while the House of Commons was [...]
BA owner IAG expects £1bn profit due to strong summer October 13, 2022 British Airways’ owner IAG expects its pre-exceptional operating profit for the third quarter to be around €1.2bn (£1bn) after better than expected trading. The airline consortium said strong passenger revenue drove profits while forward bookings remained at expected levels, showing no signs of slowing down. Shares went up as high as 10 per cent following [...]
Truss has picked the wrong fight: the problem is inflation, not lack of growth October 13, 2022 In her speech to what was left of Tory party conference, Liz Truss promised that her priority was “growth, growth, growth”. The events of the past week have underlined why that is the wrong priority, at the wrong time, by the wrong prime minister. Much has been made about the prime minister’s ideological convictions but [...]
Energy bill fears: Tesco sales of air fryers triple and electric blankets up 500 per cent October 12, 2022 Brits have flocked to buy air fryers and electric blankets in a bid to cut their energy use ahead of the winter. Supermarket giant Tesco reported the countertop frying appliance which deep-fries food without oil experienced a tripling in sales over the past year. Sales rocketed 200 per cent year on year as customers look [...]