All public sector workers to get pay rise after partial 2021 wage freeze October 25, 2021 Millions of public sector workers are set to get a pay rise in this week’s Budget as the UK faces increasing inflation growth. The Treasury tonight said the size of the wage increase will be determined next year after it has been given recommendations from pay review bodies. Rishi Sunak froze pay for all public [...]
SMEs fear high energy costs will act as a barrier to growth October 25, 2021 Seventy per cent of small and medium enterprises (SME) owners believe that high-energy costs will negatively affect the growth of their businesses, according to a new survey from Tyl by Natwest. The group questioned 500 UK SME business owners, and discovered that 65 per cent of SMEs are spending up to one fifth of their [...]
UK banks still stung by largest tax raid even if bank surcharge is slashed October 25, 2021 London will sting banks with the largest tax raid out of all of the world’s leading finance hubs even if the Chancellor slashes the bank surcharge at this week’s budget. UK based banks will still be hit by a 46.5 per cent levy in 2024 even if Chancellor Rishi Sunak cuts the bank surcharge to [...]
UK petrol prices reach record highs October 25, 2021 Petrol prices soared to an all-time high on Sunday, reaching 142.94p a litre. The new record is 28p a litre higher than a year ago, when petrol cost about 114.5p. Motoring group RAC has described the outcome as a “dark day for drivers.” The rebound has seen prices rise from pandemic lows of 106.48p in [...]
Upbeat banking stocks lift London markets October 25, 2021 A rally among banking stocks lifted London markets this morning as investors kicked off the week in an upbeat mood. The capital’s FTSE 100 climbed 0.52 per cent to 7,241.83 points, while the mid-cap FTSE 250 edged 0.04 per cent higher to 22,941.80 points. More to follow.
Shipping kingpin urges government to ramp up investment to tackle logistics crisis October 25, 2021 The chief of one of the world’s shipping kingpins has urged governments to urgently tackle the global shipping crisis. Jeremy Nixon, chief executive of Ocean Network Express, which oversee more than six per cent of the world’s freight, called on governments to ramp up investment to expand port capacity and improve railways and warehousing systems. [...]
Co-op bank confirms TSB approach October 25, 2021 The Co-op bank has today confirmed it approached Spanish lender Banco de Sabadell over buying fellow bank TSB. The bank said that it sent a letter to Banco de Sabadell but that no discussions are currently taking place between the two banks. More to follow.
Weaker new customer inflows crimps Plus500 profits October 25, 2021 A reduction in new customer inflows crimped Plus500’s third quarter profits. The trading platform registered four per cent reduction in profits in the three months to September, down to $128.6m from $134.2m. More to follow.
HSBC smashes expectations and launches share buyback programme October 25, 2021 HSBC smashed expectations for profit for the third quarter of the year driven by the release of reserves set aside to cope with an expected wave of pandemic-induced defaults. The bank registered a pre-tax profit of $5.4bn in the quarter to September, up from $3.1bn a year ago. Analysts had expected profit to come in [...]
Cascade of ‘cheerless’ economic news weighs on consumer confidence October 22, 2021 A cascade of “cheerless” news about the health of the UK economy has caused consumer confidence to plummet. Severe petrol and food shortages, compounded by soaring energy costs and wider inflationary pressures has engineered a cost of living crisis in the UK and stalled the economic recovery. As a result, consumer confidence slid to minus [...]