Utilita boss fears Big Six advantage as he slams Ofgem reforms December 2, 2022 Ofgem risks stifling innovation and preventing energy firms from finding a pathway to profit, warned the boss of Utilita Energy.
Germany backs Qatar to meet energy needs with mega LNG deal November 29, 2022 Germany is gambling on Qatari gas supplies to meet its energy needs, as it shifts from Russian pipelined gas, with a long term LNG deal.
Brits sit pat on Covid-19 savings mountain in sign of tougher recession November 29, 2022 Brits are sitting pat on the mountain savings they built up over the course of the Covid-19 crisis during lockdowns, official figures out today reveal. Households set aside £6.4bn in savings last month, £1.6bn higher than the average monthly deposit flow before the pandemic, according to the Bank of England. The figures illustrate consumers are [...]
Shoppers set to fork out more than last year on Black Friday buys November 23, 2022 Shoppers are set to splash more cash on Black Friday purchases this year, despite cost of living pressures. Consumers will fork out seven per cent more for the shopping occasion, which falls amid a rare winter World Cup tournament, estimates from Nationwide have revealed. The building society forecast that its members would spend more than [...]
City job losses loom amid government tax grab and recession November 22, 2022 Square Mile banks, brokers and insurers will shed jobs to alleviate pressure on their balance sheets from the government hiking taxes, the new Lord Mayor of the City of London has warned. Nicholas Lyons, the freshly minted 694th Mayor of the City, told Bloomberg today he expected “there will be some job losses” after chancellor [...]
FCA calls on credit raters to boost checks amid unaffordable loan fears November 22, 2022 The UK’s financial watchdog has called on credit rating firms to boost their credit checks on customers today amid fears that lenders are dishing out loans to borrowers based on patchy information.
Hunt hopes for an uneasy peace between the markets, voters and his own party November 21, 2022 At the dispatch box, Jeremy Hunt opted to forgo the traditional Budget day whisky when he delivered the Autumn Statement. Given the task he was facing, you could forgive him for having a drink. Burgeoning estimates of the fiscal black hole were well trailed by a Treasury desperate to manage expectations. The final figure was [...]
UK assets in focus this week November 16, 2022 This week’s focus in markets apart from the US’s weak inflation print last week is on Sterling and the FTSE in the wake of a raft of economic data points, as well as the new Chancellor Jeremy Hunt’s Autumn statement on Thursday the 17th. UK inflation this morning came in at a level not seen [...]
Of dice and men: How Ian Livingstone conquered the nerd universe November 11, 2022 In a leafy enclave of West London, Ian Livingstone is balanced precariously upon a chair in his study, grasping for a top-shelf box filled with incredibly rare figurines. The legs of the chair creak in protest, and there is a moment when I fear I may be responsible for the untimely death of the man [...]
Exclusive: Spirits set for double digit tax rise in industry’s largest duty hike since 1643 November 11, 2022 Distillers have warned that they’re being squeezed to the bone following the government’s decision to scrap the alcohol duty freeze. With massive increases in the cost of living, a tax increase of almost 16 per cent is set to hit consumers in the pocket just before Christmas. New industry analysis shows that the potential hike, [...]