Let’s be honest, stamp duty is a terrible tax killing economic growth and productivity September 22, 2022 Tomorrow’s mini-budget is turning into a super-budget. The changes were already looking drastic, from the energy price freeze and scrapping the bankers’ bonus to reversing the national insurance and corporate tax rises. The latest reports suggest the prime minister and her chancellor are even intending to cut stamp duty. “This is about growing the size [...]
British businesses return £300m in furlough cash as spectre of Covid recedes September 21, 2021 UK businesses returned £300m in furlough cash, triggered by the spectre of Covid-19 over the British economy receding, according to official figures released today. The repayment now takes the total amount of money returned to the public coffers to £1.3bn since July last year, the Treasury said. Rishi Sunak, chancellor, said: “This Government stepped in [...]
Long Read: Europe’s growing Covid crisis pits vaccinated against unvaccinated November 22, 2021 With coronavirus infections spiking again across Europe despite nearly two years of restrictions, the health crisis is increasingly pitting citizen against citizen – the vaccinated against the unvaccinated. Instead of a Christmas where family and friends can once again embrace festivities and one another, the continent is the global epicentre of the Covid-19 pandemic as [...]
Boris Johnson to outline next phase of Covid plan as England drops all restrictions February 20, 2022 Boris Johnson will tomorrow bring forward the government’s plan for the next phase of Covid as England prepares to drop all pandemic restrictions. Johnson today told the BBC that it was time to change England’s Covid strategy to his “living with Covid-19 plan” and that “now is the moment for everybody to get their confidence [...]
Bailey bats away claims Bank of England has fuelled inflation May 23, 2022 Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey today snapped back at criticism he and the central bank’s committee of rate setters have fuelled inflation in the UK. The governor dismissed accusations the Bank has contributed to the current living cost spike by over-flooding the UK economy with money during the Covid-19 crisis. “What I [...]
Moderna scouts for 3,000 British volunteers for new Omicron-specific jab February 16, 2022 Moderna is scouting for around 3,000 British volunteers as part of its new Omicron booster vaccine study. The jab will be the world’s first variant-specific vaccine and is set to be trialled at various sites across the UK in partnership with the National Institute for Health Research. The study, led by a team based at [...]
Warnings of a profit crisis for retailers as margins shrink in the past decade June 14, 2022 Retail profit margins will plunge to 5.1 per cent in 2022, the lowest level in a decade. Excluding the initial impact of the Covid 19 pandemic and related shop closures, profit margins will drop to the lowest level in a decade, down from 8.3 per cent in 2021. Some 57 per cent of UK consumers [...]
Nexus Infrastructure rebounds from pandemic and returns to profit December 10, 2021 Nexus Infrastructure has rebounded from challenging pandemic conditions, with revenues rising to £137m in its latest results.
Sunak is right in taking on the unions, but anti-strike laws are no silver bullet January 9, 2023 Strike action doesn’t have to be very extensive to send British society into fits of frightening folk memories of the 1970s. People murmur knowingly about a winter of discontent coming back to haunt us from the past. Real connoisseurs will recall the Army being brought in, ageing Green Goddess fire engines wheeled out to cover [...]
Blackrock and Vanguard rake in billions: Omicron variant makes Moderna and Pfizer shareholders more than $10bn December 6, 2021 Big pharma executives and shareholders saw their wealth skyrocket in the week after the Omicron variant was discovered, with eight top Pfizer and Moderna shareholders making a combined $10.3bn. Campaigners have accused pharma executives of “making a killing from a crisis they helped to create”, blaming “grotesque” levels of vaccine inequality for creating the conditions [...]