By Andrew MacAskill LONDON (Reuters) -More Britons will pay the top rate of income tax under government plans announced on Thursday to freeze allowances and lower the level at which people start to pay the highest rate as part of measures to stabilise public finances. Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt said that the newly-installed Conservative government …
More Britons to pay top income tax rate in budget squeeze Read More »
By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) – British consumer confidence ticked higher this month but remained close to record-low levels, with soaring inflation and the spectre of recession making a sustained improvement unlikely, market research firm GfK said on Friday. GfK’s monthly consumer confidence index, which dates back to 1974, rose in November to -44 from …
UK consumer morale edges higher, but still very low: GfK Read More »
By Farah Saafan CAIRO, Egypt (Reuters) -Prominent Egyptian-British activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah was close to death when he broke his hunger strike, and needed to be revived after collapsing in a prison in Egypt, his family said after visiting him for the first time in weeks on Thursday. Abd el-Fattah had been on full or …
Activist Abd el-Fattah was near death after Egypt prison hunger strike, says family Read More »
By Susanna Twidale and Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) – British finance minister Jeremy Hunt on Thursday unveiled plans to increase a windfall tax on oil and gas companies and extend it to power generation firms in an effort to raise tens of billions of pounds to plug a major hole in public finances. The measures …
UK hits power firms with windfall tax, hikes oil company levy Read More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s government could end up paying 133 billion pounds ($157 billion) to the Bank of England over six years to finance its quantitative easing (QE) programme, official budget forecasters said on Thursday. British banks hold around 950 billion pounds of reserves at the BoE, largely as a result of more than 800 …
UK taxpayers on hook for 133 billion-pound bill to cover BoE losses Read More »
By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) -Burberry will focus on “Britishness” to eventually become a 5 billion pound business, new CEO Jonathan Akeroyd said, and will increase sales of accessories like higher-margin handbags and shoes to more than half its total. Akeroyd, who joined the 166-year-old fashion house in April, said Burberry was the only luxury …
Burberry focuses on ‘Britishness’ in new CEO’s growth plan Read More »
By Marie-Louise Gumuchian LONDON (Reuters) – Elizabeth Debicki may have won rave reviews for her portrayal of the late Princess Diana in the new season of royal drama “The Crown”, but the Australian actor says the role felt “insurmountable” when she first took it on. The 32-year-old joins the award-winning Netflix series following the reign …
‘The Crown’ actor Debicki says Diana role felt ‘insurmountable’ at first Read More »
By Sinead Cruise, Iain Withers and Lawrence White LONDON (Reuters) -As inflation rockets and recession looms, many British businesses are struggling to secure affordable bank finance, piling pressure on the embattled UK government as it unveiled a budget aimed at reviving the economy. British fruit-grower Hall Hunter is one of thousands of businesses in Britain …
As recession looms, British business sends out lending SOS Read More »
LONDON (Reuters) – British finance minister Jeremy Hunt announced a string of tax increases and tighter public spending in a budget plan on Thursday that he said was needed after the blow dealt to the country’s fiscal reputation by former prime minister Liz Truss. Following is a snapshot of what he announced and reaction. GROWTH …
(Reuters) – Royal Mail’s parent company International Distributions Services on Thursday reported a first-half loss of 57 million pounds ($67.88 million) as higher costs and disruptions arising from strikes by its postal workers put a strain on its finances. The former British postal monopoly, which recently changed the name of its holding company from Royal …
Royal Mail parent slides to half-yearly loss as UK business drags Read More »
