Bloody Friday as cost of living onslaught starts for millions: Steepest rise in household bills in living memory begins today April 1, 2022 Today has been dubbed National Price Hike Day, when government bodies and private firms traditionally announce the increases in the cost of goods and services. This year, energy costs are set to skyrocket, with the cheapest energy tariff for a medium user surging to £1,971 – a staggering 118 per cent increase year on year. The [...]
Roman ‘hole in the wall’: World’s oldest cash machine found in UK April 1, 2022 A team of archaeologists have unearthed evidence of the world’s first cash machine dating back to the Roman empire, buried for centuries in an unassuming field in Hatfield, England. The ‘noteworthy’ discovery suggests Juno Moneta, the Roman Goddess of Money and Funds, was smiling on the British Isles as early as AD 265. The discovery, [...]
Government decides it will go ahead with plan to ban conversion therapy following backlash April 1, 2022 The government has decided it will go ahead with its plans to ban conversion therapy after a leaked document revealed it was scrapping the move. “The PM has agreed we should not move forward with legislation to ban LGBT conversion therapy,” the document read, ITV News first reported. Following backlash from politicians, charities and businesses, [...]
UK economy flirting with recession amid escalating inflation April 1, 2022 Escalating inflation is threatening to throw the UK economy into dangerously close recession territory, reveals two closely watched surveys. Businesses are struggling under the weight of swelling costs triggered by soaring energy bills, prompting them to launch the quickest price hike cycle on record, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC). Around two in [...]
The City View: White Paper, black market for gambling? And April economic uncertainty March 31, 2022 Today Andy Silvester chats to City A.M. reporters Leah Montebello and Jack Barnett. Jack outlines the cost-of-living crunch that, some say, hasn’t been seen since the Second World War. He goes through the economic uncertainty that awaits in April, with tax, energy, and price hikes all coming into effect. Leah boils down the Betting and [...]
As Iceland rows back on palm oil, this is one slippery slope we should start to embrace March 31, 2022 Supermarket chain Iceland announced this week that it had no choice but to go back on a pledge to avoid using palm oil as an ingredient in its own-brand product range. Managing director Richard Walker wrote in a blog post that Iceland could no longer afford to use sunflower oil, the palm oil alternative it [...]
Saving it away for a rainy day? Now you just have to keep it there as costs spiral March 31, 2022 Over many decades, thousands of column inches have lamented the state of financial education and hours of speeches have been delivered by politicians vowing to fix it. When this hasn’t proven forthcoming, it’s fallen to bloggers and influencers to fill the education gap. Now, as we navigate the harshest cost of living crisis for generations, [...]
The City View: Chris Jackson, CEO of green hydrogen firm Protium, talks easing sustainable energy transition March 30, 2022 Today Andy Silvester chats to Chris Jackson, CEO of UK-based green hydrogen energy firm Protium. They go back to Protium’s roots; discuss what green hydrogen acutally is and how the company aims to simplify the decarbonisation process for the companies it works with; and go through why hydrogen, rather than solar and wind energy, might [...]
Avocado price skyrockets to highest in two decades as Mexican drug gangs feud March 30, 2022 The price of avocados has skyrocketed to its highest for two decades, in part due to feuding drug gangs in Mexico which is one of the main global suppliers. The cost of the crop rose after a United States safety inspector in the country was threatened, leading to an import ban from the state of [...]
Broadband startup Cuckoo calls on industry to abolish exit fees and end £1.3bn price hikes March 30, 2022 Broadband exit fees and above-inflation price rises should be scrapped as UK customers face a cost of living crisis, the CEO and founder of broadband firm Cuckoo Alex Fitzgerald has demanded.