UK consumers cut back on credit card borrowing in May amid fears over rising interest rates and a slowing economy driven by a cost of living crisis. Monthly figures from the Bank of England showed that consumer borrowing fell to a four-month low of £800 million in May, from £1.4 billion in April. Half of […]
London City airport is seeking to overturn its Saturday flight ban and raise by 40% the limit on its passenger numbers. A local residents’ group has denounced the proposals to cut into the nearly 24-hour respite from aircraft noise from 1pm on Saturdays to 12.30pm on Sundays, granted when the airport was licensed. London City […]
The bank said that it was introducing a £1,200-a-year pay increase from August 1, which would start to show in next month’s pay packets. The rises of £100 a month before tax were an early instalment on the usual annual inflation review that would normally come in from March 2023. Unite, the trade union, which […]
Postmasters caught up in the Horizon IT scandal say that they are still being “left in the dark” about a compensation package after the government announced that they will receive interim payments. Paul Scully, the postal affairs minister, said payments totalling £19.5 million will be paid to eligible members of the 555-strong group within weeks […]
BT staff have voted for their first national strike in 35 years, which is expected to affect customers across the country having broadband services installed or getting faults fixed. The strike by BT engineers and call centre staff represents the vast majority of its 58,000-strong frontline workforce, and the trade union organising the ballot has […]
More than two million people have become higher-rate taxpayers under Boris Johnson’s government, fuelling a backlash from Tory MPs. Figures released by HM Revenue & Customs yesterday showed that 6.1 million people — equivalent to one in six adults — now pay at the 40 per cent rate, up from 4.2 million in 2019. They […]
A cut in VAT has been proposed by No 10 to curb inflation and help households with the cost of living crisis. Steve Barclay, the prime minister’s chief of staff, suggested reducing the 20 per cent headline rate of the tax, proposing that a temporary cut would reduce the tax bill for millions and ease inflation, […]
Business confidence has fallen to a 15-month low as soaring inflation and the associated cost-of-living squeeze pile the pressure on bosses. Corporate sentiment dropped this month to its lowest point since March 2021, when the UK economy was emerging from a second wave of Covid-19, according to a long-running monthly survey by Lloyds Banking Group. […]
Amazon has bowed to pressure from the United Arab Emirates and restricted search results for LGBTQ+-related products such as books and rainbow-coloured flags on its website in the country. The company decided to restrict the searches after being threatened with penalties by the UAE government, according to the New York Times which first reported the […]
The Bank of England is leaving “all options on the table” including a bigger 50 basis-point interest rate rise to tackle 40-year high inflation, central bank governor Andrew Bailey has warned. Bailey told an audience of global central bankers that rate-setters would leave the door open to more aggressive monetary tightening, despite the gradual pace […]