Saturday, November 23
Today: Fog patches slowly clearing to leave a mostly dry, though rather cloudy day for many. Some bright intervals, especially in the northeast. However, rather windy in the north, and some rain at times across the north and west of
Editorial 31.10.24
Thursday’s front pages report on the budget – delivered by the chancellor yesterday. The newspapers analyse and scrutinise the measures announced by Rachel Reeves, the first Labour budget in 14 years.
Online, the newspapers offer up even more analysis and opinion articles.
Elsewhere, there’s a little coverage of the flash flooding in Spain and the back pages are dominated by Manchester United’s attempts to get Amorim.
The Metro says the chancellor announced a “huge series of investments” – particularly in schools and the NHS, but they will be paid for with £40bn of extra taxes and a rule change to allow the government to borrow £127bn this year.
The Financial Times says the chancellor introduced the “biggest Budget tax increase in a generation” with businesses and the wealthy bearing the brunt and that the changes are intended to fix the country’s finances and public services.
The paper says that the extra borrowing will find an extra £100bn of capital spending over the parliament, bringing in a “massive expansion of the state that will define political battle lines for years to come”.
The Guardian highlights that the budget will include an “emergency NHS cash injection” and that the chancellor has “gambled on voters rewarding the government for patching up Britain’s crumbling services”.
The i is another newspaper to frame the budget as a “gamble”. The paper says Rachel Reeves hopes to encourage growth by boosting investment, but that the changes are set to cost households £300 per year and the OBR has warned that the rise in employers’ national insurance will hit jobs. The paper’s headline calls it the “great £40bn tax gamble.”
The Mirror has a much more positive take saying the increase in public spending will help “undo 14 years of Tory negligence”. The paper’s front page highlights the news that the budget included an end to tax breaks for non-doms and private schools and quotes the chancellor saying: “This is the start of a decade of renewal.”
The Daily Mail says the chancellor delivered a “tax bombshell for Britain’s strivers” and that the OBR’s “bleak” forecasts have made a “mockery of her amotion” to be the most pro-growth chancellor in history.
The Times says the Labour budget took the tax burden to the highest level on record. The paper highlights the news that there will be an increase in capital gains tax as well as temporary freezes to the thresholds for income and inheritance tax.
The Daily Telegraph claims the tax rises have “crushed hopes of higher growth” and will “damage living standards”. The paper says the OBR has cut its growth forecast for most of this decade and warns that a “sugar rush” of economic growth from higher government spending will quickly wane.
The Sun calls the budget a Halloween horror show but praises the freeze on fuel duty, an issue the paper has campaigned on. “At least she lept it down at the pump-kins,’ is the paper’s Halloween-themed headline.
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Australian man acquitted in British woman’s death during home break-in An Australian man has been acquitted of murdering Emma Lovell, a British woman who was fatally stabbed during a Boxing
Spain’s flood death toll expected to rise Spain is grappling with its worst flooding in decades, with at least 95 confirmed dead and dozens still missing after torrential rains devastated
Argentina President sacks Foreign Minister over Cuba vote Argentina’s president, Javier Milei, has dismissed Foreign Minister Diana Mondino after Argentina supported a United Nations vote to lift the longstanding US
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OPINION || The problem with Rachel Reeves promising both ‘stability’ and ‘growth’ is that the two can be mutually exclusive. Governments do not create growth; businesses do and they rely on innovation and risk taking, writes Alys Denby ✍️
HSBC has unveiled its latest multibillion-pound share buyback after beating profit estimates in the third quarter as the Asia-focused bank gears up for a major restructuring.
The announcement drove HSBC’s share price 4.7 per cent higher in London and up 3.7 per cent in Hong Kong during earlier trading – with both at their highest level in around six years.
The London-based lender reported a pretax profit of $8.5bn (£6.6bn) between July and September, up from $7.7bn (£5.9bn) a year earlier. Analysts had expected a profit of $7.6bn (£5.9bn).
HSBC announced a $3bn (£2.3bn) share buyback and dividend of 10 cents (7.7p) per share to reward investors, bringing its total shareholder distributions to $18.4bn (£14.2bn) this year alone.
FTSE 100 oil giant BP has reported strong-than-expected earnings for the third quarter.
On Tuesday, it posted an underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $2.3bn (£1.8bn) for the three months to 30 September.
The figure beat analyst expectations of $2.1bn (£1.6bn), according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.
However, the figure was worse than the $2.8bn (£2.2bn) profit reported for the second quarter of 2024 and far below the $3.3bn (£2.5bn) reported for the third quarter of 2023.
Yougov shares jumped 13 per cent on Tuesday as the data firm reported revenue and operating profit narrowly ahead of full-year expectations.
In unaudited results for the year to 31 July, 2024, Yougov posted a three per cent organic revenue increase, with reported revenue up 30 per cent to £258.3m, driven by its recent CPS acquisition.
This outpaced guidance offered in August, owing to higher-than-expected research activity in July.
Adjusted operating profit inched up from £49.1m in 2023 to £49.6m, with trading this year tracking last year’s levels and reflecting slower sales bookings in the second half.
There has been fevered speculation about changes to pension savers’ tax allowances and other perks ahead of today’s Budget statement.
Reports that pensioners could have tax breaks cut or axed led to savers withdrawing chunks of their retirement pots ahead of Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s big announcement.
Other speculation focused on tax breaks for workers planning to retire, spurring them to do the opposite, and pack more cash into their pensions in case their own tax incentives are slashed.
You may have missed the fact your bank has cut your savings rate. We are seeing things cut across the board – keep an eye on that
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown
Reeves has tasked herself with fixing a gap in the nation’s finances of £22bn. She has also pledged to bring the country’s debts to heel and to avoid raising income tax rates, one of the easiest and least popular ways to bring in money.
Instead, she is reportedly considering other revenue-raising means, such as cutting perks or taxing things like gains in the value of assets like company shares or second homes.
For at least a couple of previous Budgets, there has been speculation that the generous tax breaks pensioners and pension savers get could be cut. This speculation has intensified.
As things stand, a retiree with a private pension pot of up to just over £1m can withdraw a quarter of that money and pay no tax, meaning a withdrawal of up to £268,275. Reeves could cut or end that allowance, since it benefits the well-off the most.
Workers saving for their pension can do so before income tax is paid. For higher earners – taxpayers paying 40 per cent income tax on their earnings – this is a very generous break. It means £100 paid into their pension pot costs them just £60 in taxed income.
But again, it benefits the best off the most, with earners on £50,271 and above getting the 40 per cent relief and lower earners getting only 20 per cent.
Some campaigners advocate for a flat rate of tax relief of 30 per cent, which would benefit everyone.
“The main thing is not to be rushed into action by speculation ahead of the actual announcement,” advises Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Don’t do anything rash,” she says. “It’s really important people don’t rip out tax-free cash without having a plan for it.”
Pensions can be accessed from age 55 for some people, and it’s important not to drastically shrink your savings if they must last you another 30 or even 40 years. Taking the money out can tempt you into spending it.
“If you do want to withdraw some pension cash, put it into an ISA, which protects interest payments and other gains from tax, just like a pension does,” Coles says.
“Outside pensions, it is worth watching out for and making use of other allowances,” says Coles. “Now that interest rates are higher, it is worth being aware that £1,000 of interest can be received tax-free for lower-rate taxpayers, but only £500 for higher-rate payers.”
There is also speculation Reeves may increase capital gains tax or cut allowances, although she is likely to leave the tax on second homes alone.
“If you own shares outside a pension or ISA, you can book £3,000 of gains a year tax-free. It might be worth doing that before the Budget,” says Coles.
She adds: “It’s worth thinking about planning as a couple. The £20,000 ISA allowance is the same per person. This means if your ISA is full, you could use your spouse’s.”
“The Budget has the effect of drowning out all other personal finance news,” says Coles. “The other thing to bear in mind is savings rates dropping. You may have missed the fact your bank has cut your savings rate. We are seeing things cut across the board – keep an eye on that.”
While rates are higher than their pre-Covid historic lows, they are ebbing downwards, so looking at what your savings accounts are offering is worthwhile.
Similarly, mortgage rates have drifted downwards, and those on high variable rates might consider securing a fixed rate.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/budget-2024-today-savings-advice-b2637957.html
Former sports minister Tracey Crouch says the incoming football regulator should be run by someone with a background in the City.
Crouch has done more than anyone to give rise to the regulator by making it a key recommendation in her fan-led review of football governance.
A revised bill laying out the watchdog’s proposed powers was published last week and former Conservative MP Crouch believes it should be helmed by someone whose expertise lies primarily in finance, not football.
“Personally, I would love someone with a financial background with an interest and understanding in football as opposed to someone who has a football background with an interest in finance,” Crouch told the Not Just Football podcast sponsored by Sky Bet.
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