UK economic headwinds cast shadow over Sunak’s cost of living support package May 24, 2022 A slowing UK economy will heap more pressure on the country’s finances, casting doubt over the scale of support chancellor Rishi Sunak will launch to help households through the cost of living crunch. That’s according to economists’ assessments of fresh borrowing figures published today by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A combination of rising [...]
Explainer-in-brief: A bill to fight off a dangerous global grain shortage May 24, 2022 This week, a bill to accelerate the manufacturing of genetically edited crops will be brought to Parliament. As the world faces a potential food crisis in the aftermath of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, the government hopes the bill will allow it to shore up the country’s reserves of wheat. Genetically edited crops are more resistant [...]
Fresh woes for Boris Johnson as Tory MPs renew calls for PM to step down over Partygate May 24, 2022 Boris Johnson faces fresh woe today after Tory MPs renewed calls for the Prime Minister to resign. Peter Aldous said he had not withdrawn his letter of no confidence in Mr Johnson to the 1922 Committee as others are reported to have. “I haven’t, no. I thought long and hard back in late January, early [...]
The government should look beyond a windfall tax to see the merit of insulation May 24, 2022 Labour leader Keir Starmer taunted the prime minister at the dispatch box last week, gloating that a windfall tax – the flagship proposal from the opposition to cut down energy bills – was now “inevitable”. Such confidence from Starmer is not unearned, as it has been fuelled by a litany of u-turns from Boris Johnson’s [...]
Bailey bats away claims Bank of England has fuelled inflation May 23, 2022 Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey today snapped back at criticism he and the central bank’s committee of rate setters have fuelled inflation in the UK. The governor dismissed accusations the Bank has contributed to the current living cost spike by over-flooding the UK economy with money during the Covid-19 crisis. “What I [...]
Post Office and British Gas team up to offer free debt advice to those struggling with bills May 23, 2022 The Post Office has teamed up with British Gas to offer direct help to those struggling to pay energy bills amid the cost of living crisis. ‘Stop the Silence Pop-Ups’ will appear during the next three weeks across UK cities, giving people worried about their debts free practical and financial advice. Starting on Monday, the [...]
Fintech lender Creditspring bags £48m to keep up with cost-of-living borrowing boom May 23, 2022 London fintech lender Creditspring has revealed a £48m cash injection today as it looks to meet a surge in demand as consumers turn to credit amidst a cost of living crunch.
Boris Johnson says new package to fight cost-of-living crisis is coming: ‘No option is off the table’ May 23, 2022 Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this afternoon that “no option is off the table” to deal with the rising cost of living but added “I’m not attracted, intrinsically, to new taxes” in response to pressure to introduce a windfall levy on oil and gas firms. Johnson insisted there would be further help to deal with [...]
Traders increasingly short ‘awfully cheap’ Pound as inflation and cost-of-living crisis drive UK towards hard recession May 23, 2022 Traders are increasingly taking short positions against the Pound Sterling as the economic outlook for Britain deteriorates. Institutional investors, asset managers and other key players in the US, the world’s largest financial market, currently hold more than 128,000 short positions against the Pound, compared to just 32,000 long positions, according to the most recent figures [...]
Travel chief warns online sales tax may hit tour operators and agencies hard May 23, 2022 The UK Government’s proposed tax on online sales could have a significant impact on travel businesses, according to accounting company RSM. The proposal, whose first consultation ended on Friday, is expected to level the playing field between physical and online retailers, as well as bringing down the cost of rentals. According to RSM UK’s head [...]