6:53 am, November 17, 2022
Chancellor vows tax hikes and spending cuts needed to ‘face economic storm’
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will promise a plan to weather an economic ‘storm’ as he risks a backlash by unveiling a £54bn package of tax hikes and spending cuts.
He will insist to MPs on Thursday that his autumn statement puts the UK on a ‘balanced path to stability’ as he tackles the ‘enemy’ of inflation, which has soared to a 41-year high.
Hunt will say his ‘difficult decisions’ are necessary to keep mortgage rates low and tackle the rocketing energy and food prices intensifying the cost-of-living crisis. But Tories on the right of the party are already voicing anger about the prospect of raising taxes, while energy bill support will be scaled back and public services face cuts.
Chancellor told not to raise fuel duty in autumn budget
Jeremy Hunt has been urged not to hike fuel duty in his autumn budget.
The RAC told him that increased pump prices could push inflation even higher.
Analysis by the motoring services company found there is an ‘extremely strong link’ between the two.
Shapps blocks sale of British microchip manufacturer to Chinese-owned firm
Business secretary Grant Shapps has blocked the sale of British microchip manufacturer Newport Wafer Fab to a Chinese-owned company on national security grounds.
The company is one of the UK’s largest manufacturers of semiconductors and there was concern over its reported £63m purchase by Nexperia, a company said to be linked to the Chinese Communist Party.
In July 2021, Nexperia bought a further 86 per cent of shares in Newport Wafer Fab, taking its total shareholding to 100 per cent.
US and Russia clash over responsibility for missile strike
The US and its Western allies clashed with Russia at the UN Security Council over responsibility for a deadly missile strike in Poland near the Ukrainian border.
UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo called the incident ‘a frightening reminder of the absolute need to prevent any further escalation’ of the nine-month war in Ukraine. US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council: ‘This tragedy would never have happened but for Russia’s needless invasion of Ukraine and its recent missile assaults against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure.’
Russia’s UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia countered, accusing Ukraine and Poland of trying ‘to provoke a direct clash between Russia and Nato’.
Republicans win 218th seat to claim slim majority in US House
Republicans won control of the US House on Wednesday, returning the party to power in Washington and giving conservatives leverage to blunt president Joe Biden’s agenda and spur a flurry of investigations.
But a threadbare majority will pose immediate challenges for GOP leaders. More than a week after Election Day, Republicans secured the 218th seat needed to flip the House from Democratic control. The full scope of the party’s majority may not be clear for several more days — or weeks — as votes in competitive races are still being counted.
But they are on track to cobble together what could be the party’s narrowest majority of the 21st century, rivalling 2001, when Republicans had just a nine-seat majority, 221-212 with two independents.
New Toyota Prius revealed with bold look and new hybrid powertrains
Toyota has unveiled its next-generation Prius, bringing a far more striking design and a raft of new technologies.
Toyota says with this new model it ‘decided to start from scratch’ and ‘renew the Prius’. Using Toyota’s second-generation TNGA platform, the gets a far bolder design than its predecessor.
There’s a choice of hybrid powertrains but Europe will only be getting the plug-in hybrid version. However, surprisingly, the new Prius won’t be offered in the UK due to falling sales of the previous version.
Amazon begins mass layoffs among its corporate workforce
Amazon has begun mass layoffs in its corporate ranks, becoming the latest tech company to trim its workforce amid rising fears about the wider economic environment.
On Tuesday, the company notified regional authorities in California that it would lay off about 260 workers at various facilities that employ data scientists, software engineers and other corporate workers. Those job cuts would be effective beginning on January 17. Amazon employs more than 1.5m workers globally, primarily made up of hourly workers.
The online retail giant, like other tech and social media giants, saw sizeable profits during the Covid-19 pandemic, as homebound shoppers purchased more items online. But revenue growth slowed as the worst of the pandemic eased and consumers relied less on ecommerce.
Wednesday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Thierry Bollore sensationally quits as CEO of Jaguar Land Rover citing ‘personal reasons’
- New car buyers’ patience ‘has a limit’ when it comes to lead times
- Drivers are now keeping cars longer due to cost-of-living-crisis and inflationary pressures
- Swansway Motor Group donates £8,000 to foodbanks as part of charity ‘refresh’
- Plans for car showroom at Wolverhampton furniture store finally approved after council ignores advice
- New car PCP payments have jumped by over 40 per cent on some models – research
Asda and Lidl limit egg sales amid supply disruption
Asda and Lidl are limiting the number of boxes of eggs customers can buy amid supply disruptions caused by rising costs and bird flu.
Asda is limiting customers to two boxes of eggs each and Lidl is restricting customers in some stores to three boxes, while Waitrose said it had not introduced any limits but was ‘continuing to monitor customer demand’.
Other major retailers including Tesco, Morrisons, Marks & Spencer and Co-op reassured customers that they continued to receive good supplies and were not limiting sales.
Wordle frustration lies behind Cambridge Dictionary’s word of the year
The Cambridge Dictionary has revealed its word of the year for 2022 as ‘homer’, with editors crediting disgruntled Wordle players whose winning streak was ended by the unfamiliar American English term.
Homer, an informal American English word for a home run in baseball, was searched for nearly 75,000 times during the first week of May when it was an answer in the online five-letter word puzzle.
It became the dictionary’s highest-spiking word of the year, and editors said five-letter Wordle answers dominated searches this year as the game became a global phenomenon.
Weather outlook
Heavy rain will drift across the UK today, sparking a series of weather warnings as rain batters already flooded roads and railway lines. It’ll be drier in southern parts and Northern Ireland, said BBC Weather.
Wet and windy tonight with rain for much of the country. Drier in the far south. Breezy.
