Coronavirus: Prime Minister pledges legislative protection for Britain’s renters March 18, 2020 The Prime Minister has said private renters will receive legislative support to protect them from evictions as a result of the coronavirus outbreak during a sober and subdued PMQs. With just a handful of MPs in the Chamber, the leader of the opposition Jeremy Corbyn took a less adversarial tone in his questioning, which focused [...]
The City View: More Spring Statement analysis, and The Macallan’s Master Whisky Maker distills her craft March 24, 2022 Today Andy Silvester chats to Economics and Markets reporter Jack Barnett — they look back on yesterday’s Spring Statement; go through dire IFS figures; and discuss lack of growth in the UK economy. Andy also takes us through the business news: P&O are in even more hot water; and the CEO of convenience store operator [...]
Watchdog slams government for lack of pandemic economic plan July 23, 2020 Parliament’s financial watchdog has slammed the government for its failure to plan for the economic consequences of a pandemic, saying it was “astonished” that the UK was not better prepared. The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) said the Treasury waited until mid-March to design schemes to support the economy. That was despite it [...]
Businesses call on chancellor to support UK hydrogen strategy June 16, 2020 More than 40 companies have written to Rishi Sunak calling on the chancellor to lay the foundations for a UK-wide hydrogen strategy to power the country’s post-coronavirus recovery. The companies, which include industrial giants such as Anglo American, Bosch, Equinor, Siemens and EDF, said they were ready to invest £1.5bn in hydrogen fuel projects around [...]
UK economy grows 6.6 per cent in July as recovery continues September 11, 2020 The UK economy grew 6.6 per cent in July as it bounced back from the coronavirus lockdown of the spring, setting the stage for rapid GDP growth in the third quarter, official figures showed. The growth was slower than the 8.7 per cent expansion seen in June, however, and was from a low base after [...]
Coronavirus: Hospitality firms on the brink of collapse as footfall dives March 15, 2020 Struggling hospitality firms could be nearing the brink of collapse due to a dive in footfall across London’s pubs and restaurants this weekend as punters stayed home to avoid the coronavirus outbreak. Hospitality companies are preparing to make redundancies as soon as this week, as visitors to London’s restaurants and bars fell 39 per cent [...]
International Energy Agency chief warns oil demand could sink 20 per cent March 26, 2020 Global demand for oil could fall by 20 per cent as 3 billion people around the world live in lockdown. Head of the International Energy Agency Fatih Birol, who made this prediction, also called on Saudi Arabia to rectify the situation. Brent crude, currently at $26 a barrel, has been driven to record lows because [...]
Steelworks MP calls for changes to loan scheme after Tata bailout request April 27, 2020 The Labour MP for Aberavon, which contains Tata Steel’s Port Talbot steelworks, has written to chancellor Rishi Sunak asking him to lift the cap on the size of loans large companies can receive to limit the coronavirus damage. Yesterday it was reported that the firm, a subsidiary of giant Indian conglomerate Tata, was seeking £500m [...]
Bank lobby chief says changes to coronavirus loan scheme may be necessary April 15, 2020 The head of Britain’s banking lobby group has said the government’s coronavirus business loan scheme may need to change in order to increase lending to smaller businesses. UK Finance chief executive Stephen Jones told the Treasury Select Committee today that the government may need to guarantee 100 per cent of loans for small businesses, instead [...]
Budget 2020: Sunak continues fuel duty freeze March 11, 2020 Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced fuel duty will be frozen for another year. The freeze was first announced in 2010 by then chancellor George Osborne and has remained in place ever since. 36 conservative MPs had written to the Sunak asking him to keep the freeze in place. “I am pleased to announce today that [...]