UK borrowing to hit record £394bn as economy shrinks 11.3 per cent November 25, 2020 Government borrowing is set to soar to a peacetime record of £394bn this year while the economy will contract at the fastest pace since the 1700s thanks to the coronavirus pandemic, according to bleak predictions from the UK’s budget watchdog. The figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) show that unemployment is expected to [...]
Spending review live: Sunak pledges cash for city centres and transport but aid and public sector pay cut November 25, 2020 Spending review live: Sunak pledges cash for city centres and transport but aid and public sector pay cut
HMRC: 2.7m people still on furlough at end of September November 25, 2020 Around 2.7m people were still on furlough in the UK at the end of September, HMRC has estimated, as the UK’s incomplete economic recovery was knocked back by rising coronavirus cases. HMRC said the arts, recreation and entertainment sector had the highest proportion of workers on furlough, at 23 per cent. Food and accommodation was [...]
FTSE 100 edges higher amid vaccine hopes and Biden picks November 25, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose for the second day as markets continued to be buoyed by positive vaccine news, president-elect Joe Biden’s cabinet picks, and stronger-than-expected US economic data. The FTSE rose 0.1 per cent in early trading, hitting 6,441 points. Its little brother, the FTSE 250, fell 0.5 per cent however. Market optimism yesterday sent [...]
Before the bell: Quiet start for Europe as all eyes are on US data November 25, 2020 It was another bullish day for global stock markets yesterday as sentiment was lifted by the vaccine hopes as well as the prospect of President Trump departing from his role in January in a calm and measured manner. The update on Monday from AstraZeneca-Oxford University that its potential Covid-19 vaccine has made great progress in [...]
DEBATE: Should Rishi Sunak scrap the RPI inflation measure in today’s Spending Review? November 25, 2020 Should Rishi Sunak scrap the Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation measure in today’s Spending Review? Angus Hanton, co-founder of the Intergenerational Foundation, says YES. We need to say RIP to RPI. Why? Because the use of the Retail Prices Index (RPI) is based on a flawed methodology — one which disproportionately impacts younger generations. From [...]
Spending review: Rishi Sunak to spend extra £4.3bn on unemployment programmes November 24, 2020 Rishi Sunak will unveil a new £2.9bn unemployment scheme and £1.4bn in extra funding for Job Centre Plus at tomorrow’s comprehensive spending review. A statement from the Treasury said Sunak’s three-year Restart scheme will help 1m people find work, with those unemployed for more than 12 months to get “regular, intensive jobs support”. In 2021-2022 [...]
Covid-19: Travel quarantine restrictions to be relaxed in time for Christmas November 24, 2020 Transport secretary Grant Shapps has scrapped blanket travel quarantine restrictions in time for Christmas so that people can travel to high-risk "red list" countries to visit relatives.
Rishi Sunak’s spending review: Three things to look out for November 24, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak is no stranger to the House of Commons despatch box, having delivered numerous mini-budgets since March. But tomorrow he will lay out comprehensive spending plans for the 2021-22 financial year in one of his biggest announcements yet. Although it will not cover a three-year period, as originally planned, it will show the [...]
Retirees to be hit by inflation change in Rishi Sunak spending review November 24, 2020 Rishi Sunak is set to cost investors £100bn by announcing a change to how pensions are calculated in tomorrow’s comprehensive spending review. The Telegraph reports that Sunak is considering linking pension rises to CPI instead of the retail price index, which would mean smaller yearly increases. The change would mean that 10m retirees will receive [...]