Truss confirms opposition to energy windfall tax to fund £100bn+ package September 7, 2022 Liz Truss has confirmed she will not slap a new tax on North Sea oil and gas producers to pay for her £100bn+ package of support to households and businesses. Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said during Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs) that Truss’ plan to increase borrowing to fund the emergency package is akin to [...]
UK’s cost-of-living crisis is driving uptick in scams, FCA exec warns September 7, 2022 A top executive at the UK’s financial watchdog has said the country’s cost-of-living crisis risks driving an uptick in financial crime. In a speech at the Financial Crime Summit, Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) executive director Sarah Pritchard said “we are already seeing more scams,” as she warned financial crime is set to become “even more [...]
Almost half of Brits stop saving and paying into pension due to short-term money problems September 7, 2022 Almost half of Brits have stopped saving, investing and paying into pensions because of short-term financial pressures. With soaring inflation, rising interest rates and an impending increase in energy bills, 46 per cent of those polled by NerdWallet say they’ve cut back on long-term money planning. Among those who are cutting back, 43 per cent [...]
Meet Liz Truss’s top team: Long-term ally Kwasi Kwarteng to hold UK’s purse strings as Chancellor September 7, 2022 Following yesterday’s Cabinet reshuffle, City A.M. introduces you to some of Liz Truss’s key ministers. Who are they? What has their journey been so far? Also check out the new Home Secretary, Suella Braverman, the new Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly as well as the new Business Secretary, Jacob Rees-Mogg. Britain’s new Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng has the job [...]
Housebuilder Barratt shares slide despite pandemic recovery and £5.2bn revenue September 7, 2022 Housebuilder Barratt Developments’ shares slid this morning despite its construction output recovering to pre-pandemic levels and a rosy revenue of £5.26bn. The FTSE-listed housebuilder’s annual results coincided with a caution from Halifax today, warning of a housing market slowdown amid the cost of living crisis, soaring energy bills and rising mortgage interest rates. Completions climbed [...]
Halfords warns cost pressures could lead to road safety risks September 7, 2022 Halfords share price boomed more than 10 per cent on Wednesday morning, following a trading update. Halfords saw like for like sales dip 1.9 per cent compared to the year before, for the 20-week period to 19 August 2022. Sales last year benefitted from the end of the Covid lockdown in the UK. The motoring [...]
FCA issues warning over influencers peddling online trading services September 7, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog has warned Brits against the dangers of unregulated financial advice today amid fears that social media influencers are peddling crypto and forex trading as a way out of a cost of living crunch.
Britain hurtling toward long economic slump and record living standards squeeze September 6, 2022 Britain is sinking into a long economic slump that will deal the biggest hit to household finances on record, a new report released today shows. A historic inflation surge led by sky-high energy bills is set to tip the country into a recession this year, wiping off £2,000 of Brits’ real take home pay, according [...]
London’s FTSE 100 jumps as Liz Truss mulls cost of living support package September 6, 2022 London’s FTSE 100 jumped today driven by investors being reassured by new prime minister Liz Truss preparing to ramp up support for households and businesses this week. The capital’s premier index added 0.18 per cent to reach 7,300.44 points, while the mid-cap domestically-focused FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the [...]
Yields on UK government debt scale to over 10-year high September 6, 2022 Yields on UK government debt hit their steepest level in over a decade today driven by investors fretting over the health of the country’s economy. The return on the benchmark 10-year gilt kissed 3.125 per cent, passing July 2011’s record. Five-gilt yields also climbed to the highest since August 2009, scaling to 3.061 per cent, [...]