Category Archives: Financial News

The news this month has been dominated by the new Omicron variant of the Covid-19 virus, first identified in South Africa. Global equity markets generally fell over November due to concerns around the economic impact, although have since recovered somewhat as a more positive view has developed – firstly that Read the full article…

The Bank of England has raised UK interest rates for the first time since August 2018, with an increase from 0.1% to 0.25%. The impact of inflation on household bills was judged a greater risk than a possible slowdown in the economy due to the new Omicron variant of Covid-19. Read the full article…

The Autumn Budget was delivered by Chancellor Rishi Sunak on 27 October 2021. Recovery from the depths of the pandemic has been faster than expected with UK economic growth (GDP) for this year revised upwards to 6.5% from 4% and unemployment lower than expected. The Office of Budget Responsibility expects Read the full article…

Equities around the world have struggled in recent weeks as anxiety about the pace of growth and inflation has grown. Global gas shortages, supply chain disruptions and fears that an implosion of highly indebted Chinese property developer Evergrande could ripple across global markets have also weighed on share prices. Evergrande Read the full article…

The UK Government recently announced a controversial increase to National Insurance contributions (NICs), in a move aimed at funding the spiralling cost of social care. From 2022/23 there is to be a temporary 1.25% increase to rates on Class 1 (Employee and Employer), and Class 4 (Self-employed) National Insurance Contributions Read the full article…