Rishi Sunak extends furlough scheme for another month
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has extended the furlough scheme for one month until the end of April next year. He said the move would provide “certainty for millions of jobs and businesses”. It means the government will continue to pay 80% of the wages of workers who have been furloughed. Mr Sunak also confirmed he would […]
FCA warns on overseas advisers targeting Sipp transfers
FINANCIAL SERVICES The Financial Conduct Authority has warned that some overseas advisers are targeting consumers, advising them to switch their UK pension into an international self-invested personal pension. The City watchdog says this could expose consumers to high and unnecessary charges and urged those approached by an adviser in these circumstances to ensure they understand […]
AVIATION
Low-cost carriers see passenger numbers plummetPassenger numbers at Ryanair and Wizz Air have fallen over 80% last month, with the effects of the second national lockdown in the UK weighing on the sector. Ryanair has said it expects summer 2021 levels to reach 80% to 90% of 2019’s figures, while Wizz Air hopes to return […]
Arcadia collapses into administration
Arcadia, the retail group which owns Topshop, Topman, Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins, Evans and Burton, has gone into administration, putting 13,000 jobs at risk. No redundancies were announced as an immediate result of the collapse of Sir Philip Green’s retail empire and Arcadia’s stores and websites will continue to trade for the time being. Arcadia […]
Moderna releases vaccine update
Pharmaceutical firm Moderna has released another tranche of data relating to the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine, with introduction of the jab expected in the UK and US before the end of the year. Final analysis of data from a trial involving 30,000 participants showed the vaccine was more than 94% effective in preventing COVID-19 […]
Mortgage approvals at highest level in 13 years
Mortgage approvals at highest level in 13 yearsWith Bank of England figures showing that 97,500 home loans were approved by lenders in October, UK mortgage approvals are now at the highest level since 2007. The Bank said approvals for home loans were more than 5,000 higher than in September and a third higher than in […]
Netflix to declare revenues to HMRC
Netflix is to start declaring the revenues it makes from British subscribers to UK tax authorities, a change that is likely to increase the amount it pays in UK corporation tax. Netflix’s UK-generated revenue has gone through accounts at its European headquarters in the Netherlands since the streaming service launched in Britain in 2012. Netflix […]
90% home loans trickle back
First-time buyers’ hopes of getting on to the property ladder have been boosted as banks have started to relaunch 90% mortgages. Moneyfacts analysis shows that the number of 90% loans available fell from 779 in March to 56 at the start of November but with smaller lenders testing the water in recent weeks, larger lenders […]
Vaccine success boosts UK economic outlook
In evidence to the House of Commons Treasury select committee on Monday, the Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane said news of three successful coronavirus vaccine trials meant the UK’s economic outlook was brighter than the Bank’s forecast earlier this month. However, he warned against the public dropping its guard triggering a third wave […]
NS&I rate cuts fail to deter savers
Over 50% of National Savings & Investments customers plan to remain with the Treasury agency despite an announcement that drastic cuts will be made to its savings accounts this week. Laith Khalaf of AJ Bell remarked: “Millions of savers could be in for a nasty shock when they wake up and smell the swingeing rate […]