Soaring inflation to add £12bn to Rishi Sunak’s debt burden August 31, 2021 Soaring inflation could add at least £12bn to the already heavy debt burden weighing on the public finances, possibly crimping Rishi Sunak’s room for giveaways at the upcoming budget. Higher-than-expected RPI inflation is set to push debt interest payments above official forecasts produced by the government’s spending watchdog. In its latest official forecasts published in [...]
Exclusive: Finance teams go remote as in-house may become a thing of the past August 31, 2021 With more than 75 per cent of adults now fully vaccinated, many employers are calling for a return to the office. However, the UK labour market has seen employees revising their expectations and demand a stronger work-life balance following three strict lockdowns that were defined by remote working. Moreover, the landscape of business management and finance [...]
Stamp duty taper triggers dip in mortgage approvals August 31, 2021 Mortgage approvals declined over the last month as the tapering of the stamp duty holiday deterred Brits from pushing ahead with homepurchases, according to official data published today. Data from the Bank of England shows there were 75,152 mortgage approvals in July, the first full month after the stamp duty taper, down from 80,272 in [...]
Benchmarking has become circular August 31, 2021 | City Talk Time and again throughout my career I have ranted about the nonsense of benchmarking in all its forms. By now I have given up on the hope that business and investing will ever leave the practice behind, so I don’t expect this post to change anything except to make me feel better. I spoke recently [...]
Range of investors circle Teesside superport as offers could hit £2bn August 30, 2021 The battle to win a £2bn takeover of Britains fifth largest port, Teesside’s PD Ports, has gained the attention of numerous investors. The site which was recently awarded a low-tax freeport status has become a target for the Duke of Northumberland’s Northumberland Estates, Legal & General, Credit Suisse joined with the Pension Insurance Corporation. Teesport [...]
UK hopes to wrap up trans-Pacific trade alliance talks ‘by end of 2022’ August 28, 2021 The UK is planning to complete negotiations to join trade alliance the Trans-Pacific Partnership by the end of next year, Liz Truss has said. In an interview with the FT, the international trade secretary said that the talks were government’s immediate priority for its post-Brexit trade agenda. She said that joining the alliance would enable [...]
UK food producers push PM to grant 12-month visas to solve supply problems August 27, 2021 Companies from across the UK’s food chain are calling on the UK Government to grant thousands of extra one-off visas to solve Brexit-induced supply chain problems that now threaten to ruin Christmas. Companies and lobby groups representing food production companies from paddock to payment counter want a 12-month visa to be created for HGV drivers [...]
Powell confirms Fed may start winding down stimulus measures this year August 27, 2021 The chair of the US Federal Reserve has confirmed the central bank could start winding down the wave of stimulus measures it unleashed to dampen the economic impact of the Covid crisis this year. Jerome Powell said the US economy has reached a point where it no longer needs the same scale of monetary policy [...]
Oil prices climb on suppliers switching off production ahead of storm hitting Gulf of Mexico August 27, 2021 Oil prices jumped today and are set to post huge gains for the week as energy suppliers shut off production in the Gulf of Mexico in preparation of a storm hitting the area on the weekend. International benchmarks WTI and Brent Crude rose 1.85 per cent and 1.62 per cent to $66.87 and $72.22 respectively. [...]
Seven million unemployed Brits not looking for work because they do not want a job August 27, 2021 Around seven million people in the UK who are unemployed are not looking for work because they do not want a job, according to official figures. Data from the Office for National Statistics shows of the 13m Brits who are not looking for work, over half said they were doing so because they did not [...]