Wednesday’s budget will be one of the last set pieces the Tories have to win back the British public ahead of the general election. Yet Hunt’s approach shows the difficult balance he must strike between the desires of the electorate, the fiscal realities and the backbenchers nervously looking at their own majorities
It is the last scheduled Budget before the next general election – expected in the second half of the year.
People earning up to £80,000 can now claim child benefit The maximum threshold for claiming child benefit will be raised from £60,000 to £80,000, it was announced today. Jeremy Hunt said this was part of a structural change which he hoped would see the help for parents assessed on household income rather than individual income by 2026. But as this was not a ‘quick fix’, he said the existing thresholds would simply be raised in…
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced fuel duty will be frozen for another year when he announced the Spring Budget 2024 this afternoon.
Jeremy Hunt has once again frozen alcohol duty, he revealed in today’s Spring Budget.
Jeremy Hunt has announced a new tax on vaping as part of the Spring Budget.
Apple has been fined €1.8bn (£1.5bn) by the EU for breaking competition laws over music streaming. The firm had prevented streaming services from informing users of payment options outside the Apple app store, the European Commission said.
City AM – Back in room The front page of the London business newspaper City AM leads on Insurance giant Aviva heading back into Lloyd’s for the first time since 2000. Aviva back into Lloyd’s for first time in two decades after £242m acquisition Insurance giant Aviva will head back into Lloyd’s for the first time since 2000 after acquiring carrier Probitas for more than £200m. The transaction sees Aviva take tenancy rights to Syndicate…
The London business newspaper CITY AM reports on a growing slowdown in consumer spending that hit London-listed operations yesterday – including Durex-maker Reckitt.
The Financial Times reports that Russia has a “low bar” when it comes to using tactical nuclear weapons.
In a blog post sharing an email sent to employees, boss Jim Ryan called the move “sad news” and said it was “a difficult day at our company”.
The employees are set to be moved to Apple’s artificial intelligence (AI) division instead, according to Bloomberg News.
Russia is becoming more dangerous, America is less reliable and Europe remains unprepared. The problem is simply put, but the scale of its solution is hard to comprehend.
The front page of the London business paper CITY AM reports Britons are ditching business cards, leading to predictions that they will soon die out altogether.
The widespread drop in global house prices that hit advanced economies has largely petered out, according to a front-page lead story.
The FT’s main story reports that a “bumper earnings report” from chipmaker Nvidia has sparked a global stock market rally, with the company’s shares surging 15% in early trading, adding £205bn ($260bn) to its value in the process.
The bank said that approach was in line with guidance from the Royal Household and aimed at minimising the environmental and financial impact of the change.
The London business newspaper CITY AM leads on share plunges in Bytes Technology. Elsewhere the news that BT Tower has been bought and will be turned into a hotel makes the paper’s front page headlines.
The London business newspaper CITY AM reports on the reaction to the UK recession by Bank of England’s Andrew Bailey. The paper claims Bailey has stuck his head in the sand over the recession news, and reports on the reaction from MPs and economists.
The front page of the business newspaper Financial Times reports on Barclay’s pledge to return £10bn to shareholders over the next three years as part of an ambitious plan to boost revenues and rebalance the lender away from investment banking.
HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, saw a remarkable surge in its pre-tax profit, skyrocketing by nearly 80% to reach $30.3 billion (£24 billion) in 2023, driven by elevated interest rates.
Britain is showing signs of recovery from its mild recession and will receive a boost when interest rates start coming down later this year, the Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, has said.
Surge in pension fund buying drives revival in UK corporate bond market Pension funds are piling into UK corporate bonds, encouraging some French and German companies to issue sterling debt for the first time. The UK’s £1.4tn “defined benefit” pensions industry has been switching to corporate debt for its higher yields and to prepare the schemes for potential sales to insurers, analysts said. The share of European corporate bond sales denominated in sterling has risen…
LSEG chief in line for salary bump London Stock Exchange boss set for multi-million-pound pay rise despite listings slump The boss of the London Stock Exchange Group is in line for a multi-million-pound pay rise despite a drop off in new listings and fears over the future of its flagship bourse, according to reports LSEG, the owner of the London Stock Exchange, is consulting with shareholders about a new pay packet for its chief David…
GDP – a key measure of a country’s economic health – fell by 19% on an annualised basis in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the latest figures.
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