Think tank: Furlough bonus scheme a £9bn ‘deadweight loss’ July 9, 2020 Rishi Sunak’s £9.4bn scheme to compensate companies that bring back furloughed employees has been described as a “deadweight loss” by a leading London think tank. The chancellor’s Job Retention Bonus will see the government pay businesses £1,000 for every furloughed employee they bring back to work and keep employed until the end of January. The [...]
Now’s not the time to worry about £500bn of borrowing, says IFS July 9, 2020 The UK’s budget deficit could balloon to £350bn this year and £150bn the next, but tax rises or spending cuts to tackle the public debt should not be implemented “any time soon,” the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) has said. However, IFS boss Paul Johnson warned that the chancellor was spending huge amounts and that [...]
Sunak’s spending spree ‘catastrophe’ for UK’s night time industry July 9, 2020 Casinos, comedy clubs and nightclubs have accused the chancellor of letting Britain’s night industry “slip through the cracks”, as a new wave of financial support for the hospitality industry failed to provide specific support for shuttered night time venues. Chancellor Rishi Sunak unveiled a raft of measures in his £30bn mini-Budget yesterday, in a bid [...]
Liz Truss says UK’s Brexit border plans at risk of WTO legal challenge and smuggling July 9, 2020 Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit border plans risk breaking international trading rules and could result in smuggling from the EU, according to international trade secretary Liz Truss. Truss wrote a letter to chancellor Rishi Sunak and Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove on Wednesday warning that the UK’s current plans put the country at risk of several political [...]
We can’t rebuild an economy on half-priced meals — we need a productivity revolution July 9, 2020 If Joe Wicks or Couch To 5K have helped you shed a few pounds during lockdown, chancellor Rishi Sunak may have just undone all your hard work, tipping the scale in favour of eating out a lot more in August. For every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the Eat Out to Help Out scheme will entitle [...]
They’ve kept our shelves stocked, now it’s time to stand up for our seafarers July 9, 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic has been a desperately worrying time for many people all over the country, in virtually every sector. Thousands of lives have been lost and the global economy has been set back by many years. But there is another pandemic taking place behind the scenes — a hidden pandemic that may cause myriad [...]
Burger King boss warns over UK restaurant closures and job losses July 9, 2020 The chief executive of Burger King UK has warned that the fast food chain could close up to 10 per cent of its branches due to the coronavirus crisis, putting up to 1,600 jobs at risk. Burger King boss Alasdair Murdoch said that the burger chain could close between five to 10 per cent of [...]
Rishi Sunak says he will deal with debt levels once picture clears July 9, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has said he will seek to reduce the huge budget deficit amassed during the coronavirus pandemic once the trajectory of the economy is “clearer”. Sunak, who yesterday pledged another £30bn worth of stimulus to fight the downturn, said it was difficult to strike the right balance between protecting the economy and the [...]
Page Group profit halves amid coronavirus lockdown July 9, 2020 Page Group’s profit almost halved as countries around the world entered lockdowns to curb the spread of coronavirus, the recruiter said today. Gross profit sank 47.6 per cent overall, with the UK one of the worst performers, where income sank 61.5 per cent year-on-year in the three months to 30 June. France plunged 52 per [...]
Small business advisers, your country needs you July 9, 2020 Like a rallying cry in 1940s war-time Britain, thousands of the UK’s business advisers have been called up to do their bit for Britain’s small businesses as part of a timely initiative we are launching today. The national effort is asking accredited advisers to sign up and lend their expertise for an hour a month [...]