Households face hike in energy bills due to Covid ‘bad debt’ November 20, 2020 Millions of households could see their energy bills hiked by £21 in order to compensate suppliers for unpaid customer debts incurred due to the coronavirus pandemic. Energy watchdog Ofgem is mulling whether to increase the energy price cap for 11m homes to allow suppliers to recoup these “bad debts”. The regulator said that it expected [...]
UK inflation picks up despite lockdowns as clothing prices rise November 18, 2020 Prices picked up across the UK economy in October, the latest figures have shown, with clothing pushing inflation higher after disruption to the sector earlier in the year. Consumer price index inflation came in at 0.7 per cent on an annual basis last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. That was up from [...]
National Grid profit slides as Covid costs increase November 12, 2020 Energy firm National Grid posted a 12 per cent decline in profit for the first half as the coronavirus pandemic increased the network owner’s costs. Underlying profit fell from £1.3bn to £1.15bn in the six month period, which the FTSE 100 company said was down to rising bad debt provisions and a shortfall in revenue. [...]
Joe Biden must not let anti-capitalist climate zealots capture his presidency November 9, 2020 As the world prepares for the coming Biden administration, a fundamental question looms both for Americans and for the wider world: which Joe Biden will govern as President? He has long defined himself as a moderate, a centrist, a bipartisan consensus-finder — but recently his Democratic Party has moved significantly to the left, and in [...]
Water spending rebellion could cost households billions, says Citizens Advice October 30, 2020 Citizens Advice has waded into a row between the competition and water watchdogs over new spending rules for the country’s water companies. According to the charity, households could lose out on a combined £3.7bn across the next five years if the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sticks with its decision to back a rebellion against [...]
Entrepreneurs don’t want Rishi’s restaurant handouts — they want to be allowed to do their jobs October 23, 2020 The Conversative Father Christmas — Rishi Sunak, to you and me — has visited once again. In a better-late-than-never display of magnanimity, the chancellor has finally realised that conditions in Tier 2 Covid areas — which now cover 26.7 million people — make operating impossible for thousands of businesses, particularly in the hospitality sector. Whereas [...]
UK inflation climbs to 0.5 per cent after Eat Out to Help Out scheme ends October 21, 2020 UK inflation climbed to 0.5 per cent last month as restaurants and cafes hiked their prices following the end of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The headline rate of inflation on the ONS consumer price index (CPI), which tracks the prices of goods and services, came in at 0.5 per cent in September, [...]
The answer to Britain’s housing crisis is more houses – not risky mortgages October 11, 2020 Housing experts were left scratching their heads this week after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his flagship policy to get young people on the housing ladder: bigger mortgages. Johnson plans to turn “generation rent” into “generation buy” by offering long-term, fixed-rate mortgages of up to 95 per cent of the value of the home. He [...]
On World Homelessness Day, can impact investing help us build back better? October 10, 2020 There is no debating that we are looking down the barrel of a tough six months. An increase in the daily cases of Covid-19 means that the gradual loosening of restrictions has ground to a halt, and the threat of a return to a full lockdown ahead of the festive season will be the Sword [...]
In full: PM Boris Johnson’s Tory conference speech in full October 6, 2020 Boris Johnson took the stage Tuesday for the Tories’ virtual party conference, announcing policies on 1:1 teaching and low-deposit mortgages, but also promising to unleash the private sector. Here’s the text in full. Good morning conference, I want to begin by thanking you for everything you did at the election, pounding the streets in the [...]