Brexit: City of London lobby slams EU for damaging confidence in UK financial services sector December 9, 2020 The City of London’s most influential lobby group has hit out at the EU for politicising decisions on the UK’s financial services sector’s access to Europe post-Brexit. The CityUK chief executive Miles Celic told a Westminster committee today that Brussels has created uncertainty for Square Mile firms through the “regrettable politiicsation” of the equivalence assessment [...]
Hurrah for a vaccine — but was lockdown actually worth it? December 9, 2020 The development of the vaccines has changed many things. It has even influenced the opinion of the Prince of Lockdown himself, health secretary Matt Hancock. Life, he pronounced at the weekend, would be back to normal by the spring and the “blasted regulations” abolished. But one thing has remained constant: the government’s continued refusal to [...]
Government calls on banks to advise on first green gilt December 8, 2020 The UK government has asked banks to bid for contracts to advise on the launch of the country’s first green gilt. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled plans last month to issue climate-focused securities for the first time. He said the bonds would contribute to a “new chapter for financial services” in the UK. Green government bonds [...]
The government must fix the broken procurement system before the next crisis hits December 8, 2020 The two caricatures of how the government has worked with the private sector during this pandemic do not add up. In one, championed by ministers in press conferences and interviews on a daily basis, the government has leveraged the best of British and international business to answer the biggest challenge this country has faced in [...]
Sadiq Khan calls for Sunak to U-turn on scrapping VAT exemption for tourists December 7, 2020 Sadiq Khan has added his voice to the chorus of figures calling for Rishi Sunak to U-turn on his decision to scrap the UK’s VAT exemption for tourists. Khan today said the move would be “hugely counter-productive” as the UK economy recovers from the Covid crisis next year and that revenue lost from the change [...]
Jacob Rees-Mogg tells Rishi Sunak that raising taxes will cost Tories next election December 7, 2020 Jacob Rees-Mogg has warned Rishi Sunak that he will cost the Tories the next election if he raises taxes next year in what could be the start of a cabinet row. The Leader of the House of Commons said on his Moggcast podcast last night that raising taxes would damage the UK’s economic recovery and [...]
UK house prices grow at strongest pace in four years December 7, 2020 UK house prices soared by 7.6 per cent in the year to November, according to the latest figures from Halifax, as buyers sought more space and tried to beat the end of the stamp duty holiday. House prices rose 1.2 per cent month on month and 7.6 per cent year on year to hit an [...]
Berkeley Group’s belief in London is ‘resolute’ despite pandemic hit December 4, 2020 Berkeley Group has reaffirmed its commitment to London even as its profits took a hit from pandemic uncertainty. Chief executive Rob Perrins said the company’s “belief in London and our developmetn approach is resolute” as it reported its interim results. The company has acquired three sites in London this year – Borough Triangle in Southwark, [...]
Supermarket heavyweights the Co-op and Waitrose face mounting pressure to return business rates relief December 4, 2020 High street titans the Co-op Group and Waitrose are facing mounting pressure to follow their peers and hand back millions of pounds of business rates relief dished out to keep the companies afloat during the pandemic. The Co-op is facing growing disquiet from members after refusing to emulate rivals Tesco, Morrisons, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Aldi, [...]
Economics lessons from history: Don’t expect a post-Covid boom December 2, 2020 Just over 200 years ago, the finances of the British government looked even more parlous than they do today. Since the mid-1790s, the country had been engaged in a titanic struggle with Napoleon’s France. To pay for the conflict, the government had borrowed on a massive scale. The cumulative financial deficit — the difference between [...]