Climate change: How insurance and analytics can help to increase global resilience November 9, 2021 Climate change is set to touch every part of our lives – from the food we eat to how we heat our homes. But it’s also going to have a transformative effect on businesses, perhaps no more so than within the insurance industry. With climate change creating more extreme weather events, the world is becoming [...]
Greater Manchester launches bid to become easiest place in the UK to be a zero carbon business November 8, 2021 The Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership (GM LEP) alongside an alliance of businesses and partner organisations has launched Bee Net Zero – an ambitious commitment to making the city-region the easiest place in the UK to become a green business. Greater Manchester’s thousands of businesses are urged to start their own green journey at BeeNetZero.com, [...]
Bank of England leaves rates at record low despite expecting persistent inflation spike November 4, 2021 The Bank of England today decided to scupper a flurry of bets on interest rate hikes and leave them unchanged at a record low. Despite mounting speculation from financial markets, economists and experts, the Old Lady left interest rates at 0.1 per cent and will see through the final leg of its QE programme. The [...]
Sunak comes out fighting in defence of tax hikes and spending spree November 1, 2021 Tory Chancellor Rishi Sunak has defended his decision to swell the tax burden to its highest level in decades. Responding to a grilling from fellow MPs on the Treasury Committee, Sunak said last week’s bumper budget spending spree was designed to deliver on a “bunch of commitments” the government promised to achieve. The Chancellor’s decision [...]
Five charts which explain what is going on with inflation November 1, 2021 “Output gap”, “bottlenecks”, “core inflation”, “base effects”, “second-round effects” “labour participation rate”. These are some of the key industry terms essential to understanding what’s going on with inflation. Soaring job vacancies reflect the strong economic recovery of the world’s major economies, as Covid-19 induced restrictions have been gradually eased. Shortages of materials, energy and transport [...]
Beyond GDP growth: why natural capital matters November 1, 2021 As the climate crisis accelerates, financial markets are paying more attention to risks and opportunities stemming from the energy transition, taking into consideration the risks related to fossil fuel production and consumption. While decarbonising the production mix and promoting energy efficiency is essential to fight climate change, we think that markets are underestimating the fundamental [...]
City brings forward bets on Bank of England rate hike to this week October 31, 2021 The Bank of England will hike interest rates this week to hose down runaway inflation, according to several grandee City investment banks. JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Santander have all brought their bets on when the Old Lady will increase borrowing costs to this Thursday’s rate setting meeting. The strengthening bets have been driven [...]
Climate change tech: What heat pumps could do for your home, and your wallet October 29, 2021 As the energy crisis rages on amid rising gas prices, UK householders are facing a change in the way we heat our homes to tackle climate change. Here are some answers to the key questions about one of the main technologies we could use instead of gas boilers. First, what is a heat pump? In [...]
Big Issue founder says Boris Johnson ‘owes’ him for not standing for London mayor October 29, 2021 Big Issue founder Lord Bird says Boris Johnson “owes him” for not standing for London mayor, and he is now calling in the debt from the current Prime Minister to tackle the homeless crisis. Speaking at Westminster, the campaigning independent peer told how Johnson had “jumped in the air” when he turned down a request [...]
Budget 2021: Sunak puts low tax conservatism to the sword October 28, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak will heap extra financial pain on households across the UK as he puts low tax conservatism to the sword. Sunak’s wave of spending will lay the groundwork for a permanently more punitive tax regime that will intensify the cost living crisis, leaving Brits “worse off in the short term”, the Institute for [...]