The End: Govt tells TV and film industry £500m pandemic scheme will end within weeks April 1, 2022 The so-called UK Film & TV Production Restart Scheme, which was launched in July 2020, is wrapping up, despite sustained lobbying from parts of the industry. The £500m scheme, which helped TV and film productions through the pandemic, will close at the end of the month, the government said this afternoon. The Department for Digital, [...]
What cost of living crisis? MPs give themselves a pay rise of nearly 3 per cent to £84,144 April 1, 2022 MPs’ salaries rise to £84,144 from today, up by 2.7 per cent, after the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority (IPSA) announced last month that their pay would go up for the first time in two years. But it comes on the same day that the biggest jump in domestic energy bills in living memory has come [...]
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 [...]
Starmer brands Tory response to rising cost of living ‘pathetic’ as windfall tax on energy firms rekindled April 1, 2022 Boris Johnson’s government’s response to energy price rises has been “pathetic”, as he rekindled Labour’s bid for a one-off windfall tax on oil and gas firms in a bid to reduce bills. This comes after millions of households were plunged into fuel poverty today caused by the uplift to the cap on energy bills sending [...]
After an explosion of apps and billion dollar valuations, is the ultra-fast bubble about to burst? April 1, 2022 Any Londoner on a stroll down a main road in the city is bound to encounter a handful of instant grocery delivery riders zipping past. With Getir, Gorillas and Gopuff among other players on the scene, the category has exploded over the past couple of years with some receiving billion-dollar valuations. The pandemic saw many [...]
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 [...]
Egg farmers: Supermarkets must raise prices by 40p to avert sector crisis March 31, 2022 Egg farmers have called on supermarkets to up the price of a dozen eggs by 40p as producers face cost pressures. Many free range egg farmers are bleeding cash on every egg laid by one of their hens, according to the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA). Shoppers in the UK were unable to [...]
High flying insurance duo plan £150m SPAC IPO on London Stock Exchange March 31, 2022 Insurance industry veterans Will Allen and Andy Rear are planning to raise £150m through the launch of a new special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in the coming days. The prominent duo plan to list a shell company called FINSAC on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) with a view merging with a leading name insurance technology [...]
It’s time to raise the bar on service – why companies should expect more from digital partners March 31, 2022 Over the last few years, we’ve seen incredible digital progress – across industries, employees and society. In some cases completely transforming what is possible almost overnight. And everything we’ve learned from the past few years of challenge and progress is now directly impacting the way business leaders make decisions to prepare for the future. Resilience, [...]