More than 11 million working-age people in Britain don’t have basic “rainy day” savings of at least £1,000, according to a report that warns that the poorest households are struggling to build up financial resilience amid the cost of living crisis.
Author: WTX Business Team
The lead story for the Financial Times reports that former US President Donald Trump has a strong lead over current US President Joe Biden on the topic of the economy. The economy is usually the main concern for US voters – along with immigration.
The front page of the London business newspaper, City AM, says Kemi Badenoch is under pressure from a top City group to revive a sweeping shake-up of audit rules after the government shelved many of its reform plans last year.
The front page of the London business newspaper City AM reports on the Barratt-Redrow merger. The paper says the £2.5bn merger of two of the UK’s largest housebuilders sent shockwaves through the market.
The paper says shares in major FTSE 100 and 250 housebuilders suffered a mixed day on the London market, as the surprise merger highlighted investors’ skewed opinions on the state of UK housing.
The front page of the business paper The Financial Times reports on Sir Keir Starmer’s U-turn on green pledges. The Labour leader has confirmed that if his party is elected to power at the next general election (expected later this year) they will slash the green spending plan due to ‘frail finances’ after 13 years of Conservative power.
In a transaction valued at £700 million, Barclays is buying Tesco’s retail banking operations, marking a significant deal for the supermarket giant.
BP’s boss has said the oil supermajor will focus on extracting maximum cash from its investments going forward as the company resets its long-term goals.
Investments into sustainable funds are reducing due to an increase in greenwashing and scepticism towards environment, social and governance focused investing, a new study has found.
The paper also leads with a picture of the King as it reports on the announcement of his cancer diagnosis.
McDonald’s, alongside other Western corporations such as Starbucks and Coca-Cola, has faced boycotts and demonstrations from anti-Israeli activists.
Russian oil getting into UK via refinery loophole, reports claim Research suggests that the UK is still importing millions of barrels of fuel produced from Russian oil, despite sanctions related to the conflict in Ukraine. A reported “loophole” allows Russian crude to be processed in countries like India, and the resulting products are then sold to the UK. While this practice is not illegal and does not violate the UK’s ban on Russian oil, critics…
UK crown courts heard 226 fraud cases last year compared with 221 in 2022, according to new figures from KPMG’s Fraud Barometer, which tracks cases worth £100,000 and above.
Iranian petrochemical firms secretly used British front companies to obtain bank accounts with Lloyds and Santander in order to evade US sanctions.
IMF: Germany to be weakest major economy in 2024 while UK downgraded again The International Monetary Fund (IMF) now predicts that Germany, not the UK, will have the slowest-growing economy this year. However, the IMF has significantly reduced its forecasts for the UK for the following year. The IMF said the UK is expected to grow by 0.6% in 2024, aligning with its earlier October forecasts. This represents a slight improvement from the anticipated 0.5%…
Nearly two-third of first time buyers are entering the property market with someone else, a new report by Halifax has found.
Mounting losses from banks in the US, Asia and Europe have rekindled concerns about weakness in the US commercial property market.
Water bills to rise above inflation in April Water companies anticipate an above-inflation increase in average household bills in April, leading to criticism from campaigners. The trade body Water UK predicts a 6% rise in the average annual water and sewerage bill in England and Wales, reaching £473, an increase of £27. In Scotland, water and waste charges will see an 8.8% increase, amounting to a rise of £36. The water firms have faced heightened…
Bao Fan, the Chinese billionaire banker who has been missing for nearly a year, has officially resigned from his position at a financial firm.
CITY AM – Market Got No Chill: Disposable vapes to be banned as government cracks down on e-cigarettes CITY AM SAYS Disposable vapes are set to be banned in the UK amid a wider government crackdown on e-cigarettes. Popular throwaway or single-use vape devices such as Elf Bar and Lost Mary products will be outlawed in a new state-led health kick, Rishi Sunak will announce on Monday morning. He will unveil the proposed ban –…
FT – Washington not looking for war with Iran after deadly assault on US troops THE FINANCIAL TIMES SAYS Washington said it was “not looking for a war with Iran” on Monday, a day after it blamed Tehran-backed militants for a drone strike that killed three US soldiers and wounded dozens of others. The attack on a military base in north-east Jordan, near the Syrian border, was the first to kill US troops since the…
Elon Musk announces first Neuralink wireless brain chip implant Elon Musk, the tech billionaire, has announced that his company Neuralink has achieved the successful implantation of its wireless brain chip in a human for the first time. Musk reported promising initial results, identifying neuron spikes or nerve impulses, and noted that the patient is recovering well. Neuralink’s objective is to establish connections between human brains and computers, with a specific focus on addressing intricate neurological…
Bank of England to leave interest rates on hold as UK economy on brink of recession Economists anticipate that the Bank of England will keep interest rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive time during its meeting this week on Thursday. The current interest rate is expected to stay at 5.25%, representing a significant increase from the 0.1% recorded at the end of 2021. Despite a slight uptick in December, where the inflation rate reached 4%,…
THE FT focuses on three US troops killed in a drone attack on a military base near the Syrian border. The deadly strike was carried out by “radical Iran-backed militant group” according to the White House.
CITY AM SAYS The Bank of England will likely leave interest rates on hold for the fourth time in a row when it meets on Thursday this week, economists have said, as the UK economy teeters on the brink of recession.
China tightens stock market rules after sell-off To stem a persistent downturn in the world’s second-largest economy, China has implemented more stringent rules within its financial industry. The move comes as Chinese and Hong Kong stocks have seen a staggering loss of nearly $6 trillion (£4.7 trillion) since their most recent peak three years ago. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) asserts that these measures are aimed at establishing “a fairer market order.” Effective Monday,…