Business

The chancellor has vowed to build a “fairer” country in the memory of those who have died during the coronavirus pandemic after he outlined his budget. In an unprecedented Downing Street news conference following his announcement in the Commons, Rishi Sunak acknowledged the victims and said financial support will continue long after COVID restrictions end.

Here are the key points from Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget speech: • Government will continue doing “whatever it takes” to support British people and businesses as well as starting to fix public finances and beginning to build the future economy • Economy expected to return to pre-COVID levels by the middle of next year, six

Furlough will be extended until the end of September, the chancellor will announce, as he unveils more support for workers and the self-employed.  Ahead of the budget, Rishi Sunak has revealed that millions of workers will continue to have 80% of their wages paid until the end of September. More than 600,000 additional people, including

What’s going to be in the budget? A lot of the big announcements have already been revealed, leaked, or guessed at. Here’s what to expect: HOUSINGA mortgage guarantee scheme will help home buyers purchase properties worth up to £600,000 with a deposit of just 5% with the government underwriting the other 95%.Rishi Sunak could also

Rishi Sunak should use this Budget to ditch the government’s pensions triple lock, lift taxes on older voters and should be wary of raising corporation taxes, according to former chancellor Ken Clarke. The intervention from Lord Clarke carries some weight, since he was the chancellor who introduced tough spending limits and tax rises in the

High street footfall picked up sharply last week, apparently spurred by the announcement of the roadmap out of lockdown as well as sunny weather. Figures from data company Springboard showed visits to retail destinations rose by 11% compared to the week before in what was described as “ever clearer evidence of lockdown fatigue“. Live COVID

Guildford High Street, with its pretty cobbled streets, chi chi shops and historical architecture, is the perfect example of an affluent commuter suburb. But even this pleasant corner of Surrey hasn’t been immune from the economic shock of the pandemic. The Hair and Beauty Bar has been a staple on the High Street for 21

A £5bn grant scheme to help pubs, restaurants and retailers hit hardest by lockdown restrictions is set to be unveiled by the chancellor in Wednesday’s budget. Rishi Sunak is also planning to support first-time buyers by incentivising lenders to accept deposits of just 5% for properties up to £600,000. The chancellor has warned hard decisions

Chancellor Rishi Sunak has warned that Britain’s public finances will face “enormous strains” in the wake of the latest national lockdown. Ahead of Wednesday’s Budget announcement, Mr Sunak told the Financial Times a bill for the government’s £280bn investment in coronavirus support will eventually have to be paid, with low interest rates leaving the nation’s

Britain’s second-richest family is exploring plans to join a wave of “blank cheque” mergers in a move that could see another major UK electric vehicle manufacturer going public in the US. Sky News has learnt that Ashok Leyland, the Indian-listed group controlled by the Hindujas, is working with bankers on a potential merger of Switch

NatWest Group is braced for the government to further delay its target date for returning the lender to full ownership, raising the prospect that it could face almost 20 years as a partially nationalised company. Sky News understands that the Treasury is likely to confirm alongside Rishi Sunak‘s Budget next week that its ambition of

The parent firm of British Airways has called for the introduction of digital health passes to help reopen the skies while revealing a €7.4bn (£6.5bn) annual loss as a result of coronavirus pandemic disruption. International Airlines Group (IAG) demanded a global approach, with common testing standards, as the travel industry reels from a disastrous 12

The fate of the Vauxhall plant at Ellesmere Port remains in doubt after its parent company confirmed it would not invest in building a new model at the site without guaranteed support from the government. The Stellantis group, which owns Vauxhall, is currently considering whether to commit to building a new electric vehicle at the

Asda has warned that 3,000 workers in its stores are at risk of losing their jobs as the chain plans to ramp up investment in online sales. The UK’s third-largest supermarket chain said the shake-up was driven by the shift in demand towards grocery deliveries which charged forward for the sector as a whole at

Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey has warned Brussels against creating a “serious escalation” by forcing firms to relocate euro clearing business away from the UK. Mr Bailey told MPs Britain should “resist very firmly” any attempt by the EU to try to dismantle by “dubious” means the dominance of London in clearing euro-denominated derivatives

Heathrow Airport has issued the chancellor with a string of demands ahead of next week’s budget after reporting a £2bn loss for 2020. The UK’s largest airport said passenger numbers collapsed by 73% over the year as the COVID-19 pandemic took its toll on international travel globally. It said just 22.1 million people used Heathrow