Exclusive: UK to begin backdoor push to get Joe Biden to dump Trump’s steel tariffs March 4, 2021 The UK will begin a push to get Joe Biden to ditch Donald Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs on British manufacturers, after the US today moved to de-escalate a long-running transatlantic trade dispute. The government is hoping the US’ decision to suspend a raft of tariffs on British goods, like Scotch whisky and Stilton cheese, [...]
UK PMIs: Construction activity bounces back as paused projects get green light March 4, 2021 UK construction activity bounced back in February as businesses gave the go ahead to projects that had been forced to be suspended due to the pandemic. The IHS Markit/Cips purchasing managers (PMI) index for construction scored 53.2 in February, with any score above the 50-mark indicating growth. That’s markedly ahead of analyst expectations of a score of [...]
Before the Bell: Sunak’s Budget aims to boost GDP, the pain comes later March 4, 2021 Although yesterday’s UK Budget was generally well received in the international markets, with the fiscal taps to be left fully open until December, the British Pound did rally. With the major decisions pre-announced earlier this week, a big equity market reaction to the Budget speech was unlikely anyway. In addition to the extension of Covid-19 specific support, [...]
Sports streaming firm DAZN taps former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as chair March 3, 2021 Sports streaming service DAZN has appointed former Disney executive Kevin Mayer as its new chairman. DAZN, which is backed by billionaire Len Blavatnik, said Mayer will lead the nascent streaming platform as it pursues an “aggressive” growth strategy. He replaces John Skipper, who is stepping down to focus on Meadowlark Media, a newly-launched content company [...]
Budget 2021: Aviation firms accuse Sunak of ignoring sector March 3, 2021 The aviation industry has reacted furiously to today’s Budget, accusing Chancellor Rishi Sunak of ignoring the sector, which has been battered by the pandemic. Aviation firms had been lobbying hard for sector-specific relief for the industry, which has been in a tailspin for an entire year due to wide-ranging travel restrictions. Although the sector will [...]
Budget 2021: Government to guarantee five per cent mortgages on homes up to £600,000 March 3, 2021 The government will introduce a new scheme that will allow individuals to put down just a five per cent deposit on homes valued up to £600,000. From April, the government will introduce a the scheme that will provide a guarantee to lenders across the UK that offer mortgages to people with a deposit of five [...]
Budget 2021: As it happened March 3, 2021 Live updates and links to all our coverage, reactions and analyses as the Chancellor of the Exchequer delivers the government’s Budget later today – at 12.30pm. Please also visit our dedicated Budget 2021 Hub. Wrap-up of the main Budget announcements Here’s a wrap-up of the main announcements made by the chancellor in his spring Budget: [...]
Stamp duty holiday: Property industry welcomes extension but calls for long-term reform March 3, 2021 Developers and property industry experts have welcomed the Chancellor’s extension of the stamp duty holiday but urged the government to fully reform the tax in the future. Rishi Sunak this afternoon confirmed that the higher stamp duty threshold of £500,000 will remain in place until 30 June – an extension of the original 30 March [...]
Stamp duty holiday: Sunak confirms three-month property tax break extension March 3, 2021 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has this afternoon confirmed that the government will extend the stamp duty holiday for a further three months. Speaking in the House of Commons today as he announced the latest budget, Sunak said the holiday will be extended in full until 30 June, with a tapered end until the end of September. [...]
Aldi and Lidl sales growth slows as discounters struggle to compete with Big Four’s online capabilities March 2, 2021 The growth of the discount supermarkets Lidl and Aldi has slowed as the Big Four UK grocers benefitted from their more established online presence during the pandemic. German budget grocers Lidl and Aldi reported that sales were up 10.9 per cent and 5.6 per cent respectively in the 12 weeks to 21 February. However, three [...]