Cummings: Govt and Bank of England feared lockdown would set off bond market meltdown May 26, 2021 Both the UK government and the Bank of England were afraid bond markets would face a meltdown if the economy was sent into lockdown, according to Dominic Cummings. Boris Johnson’s former advisor revealed during a parliamentary hearing in Westminster that it was the Bank of England that warned for the potential impact of a lockdown [...]
M&S sinks to a loss as store closures hammer clothing business May 26, 2021 M&S has reported an annual loss as sales in its clothing division collapsed during the pandemic. The high street stalwart reported a £201.2m pre-tax loss in the 52 weeks to 27 March 2021, down from a pre-tax profit of £67.2m in the previous year. M&S Food sales dipped 0.6 per cent across the year with [...]
Final stop: Go-Ahead CEO David Brown to leave after ten years in charge May 26, 2021 Transport group Go-Ahead today announced that CEO David Brown will leave after leading the company for more than ten years. Brown, who will depart at the end of this year, has spent nearly 40 years working in the transport industry. He worked as CEO of London Buses for Go-Ahead and managing director at Transport for [...]
Vaccines opened up for all over-30s as Government eyes end of social distancing May 26, 2021 Britain is on track for a “big” fortnight of vaccinations as the Government opens up appointments to 30 and 31 year olds today, raising hopes social distancing restrictions are on track to end next month. Nearly three-quarters of adults in the UK have already had one dose and more than two-fifths have had two. The [...]
Rishi Sunak to propose new powers to block London listings over security fears May 25, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is set to propose new powers which will enable companies to be prevented from listing on London’s financial markets over security concerns. Sunak will launch a consultation on the plan in the next two weeks as the government tries to crack down on “dirty money” in London’s financial bodies. A Treasury spokesperson [...]
Global inflation outlook more complicated than polarised debate suggests May 25, 2021 It sometimes feels as there is little more to be said about the outlook for inflation, such has been the volume of ink spilt on the subject in recent weeks. However, much of the discussion has tended to miss important nuances in the situation faced by different countries. So there are several issues worth keeping [...]
Public sector borrowing shows first year-on-year fall since start of pandemic May 25, 2021 Public sector borrowing is estimated to have been £31.7bn in April, £15.6bn less than in the same month last year when public finances first fell the full impact of the pandemic. The fall in borrowing in April compared with a year earlier is the first annual decline since the start of the pandemic, but last month’s borrowing remains huge [...]
G7 closing in on deal for global corporate tax shake-up May 24, 2021 The G7 is said to be nearing an agreement over corporation tax for multinationals, paving the way for a new global tax regime cracking down on some of the world’s largest companies. A pact between the major economies could be inked as early as Friday following progress in talks among top officials in recent days, [...]
City police opened 50 per cent more Covid loan fraud probes in February May 24, 2021 City of London police commenced 50 per cent more investigation into fraud connected to the government’s Bounce Back Loan scheme (BBLs) in February than the prior month. Police opened 26 such probes in February, up from 17 in January, international law firm RPC said. It opened a further 28 in March. Back in October the [...]
Labour calls on UK to back Biden’s global corporate tax overhaul May 23, 2021 Boris Johnson must back US plans for a global minimum corporate tax rate to target tax avoidance, the Labour Party has warned. The Biden administration set out a tax regime overhaul last month, proposing a new tax based on sales in each country to the global profits of large corporations, regardless of their physical presence [...]