6:48 am, November 4, 2022
Chancellor weighs up rise in capital gains tax in bid to fix £50bn black hole
The chancellor is looking at raising taxes on the sale of assets such as shares and property as he weighs up ‘difficult decisions’ to address a £50bn black hole in the public finances.
He is also considering an increase in dividend tax, in a move that would come as a blow to entrepreneurs. A source close to Jeremy Hunt confirmed the tax hikes were under consideration, but said no decisions had yet been taken – stressing ‘we are two weeks away’ from the highly-anticipated autumn budget.
It comes as the country has been struck by more bleak economic news, with the Bank of England hiking interest rates for the eighth time in a row and the UK heading into what could prove the longest recession in at least a century.
Emergency chiefs apologise over ‘inadequate’ Manchester Arena bombing response
Police, fire and ambulance chiefs offered profuse apologies after a scathing report into the emergency response to the Manchester Arena bombing.
One of the 22 people murdered in the suicide attack would probably have survived but for the failures on the night, the report said, which made 149 recommendations in light of the public inquiry into the bombing.
Hours after Manchester Arena Inquiry chairman Sir John Saunders delivered his critical report, four chief officers in Greater Manchester from the police, fire, British Transport Police and the ambulance services, sat grim-faced at a press conference, some speaking of the personal ‘shame’ they felt.
King to host Cop27 reception at Buckingham Palace
The King will host a Buckingham Palace reception for business figures from across the globe and NGOs ahead of the UN climate change summit Cop27.
Charles will welcome more than 200 guests to the royal residence including prime minister Rishi Sunak who reversed his decision to skip Cop27 in Egypt next week, bowing to pressure from activists, his own environment adviser and Boris Johnson. Despite No 10’s U-turn, the King is still not planning to attend Cop27.
Downing Street acknowledged on Thursday that the King might have been able to join delegates in Egypt if the prime minister had been in office earlier in the year.
Thursday Car Dealer headlines you might have missed
- Price has to be right for next vehicle with 15 per cent of buyers opting for online, major YouGov survey finds
- Nest of rats found in used car as trading standards officers carry out dealerships sting
- Winning a Car Dealer Used Car Award is a ‘humbling’ experience, says triple winner
- Peoples posts its best results with pre-tax profit soaring to £8.5m amid turnover drop
- John Clark Motor Group to open new Volvo showroom in Edinburgh
- Stellantis’s global revenue rises to £36.5bn for third quarter as BEV sales soar by 41 per cent
- Bentley posts record profits for first nine months of 2022
UK ‘hours’ from potential financial meltdown after mini-budget, Bailey confirms
The UK was just hours from potential total financial meltdown in the wake of Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget, the governor of the Bank of England has confirmed.
Andrew Bailey said the Bank was forced to step in ‘quickly’ and ‘decisively’ to mitigate a ‘very real threat to financial stability’ after markets were spooked by the calamitous £45bn tax giveaway.
‘We certainly reached a point where markets were very unstable, and these were core markets, this is the government bond market, which is in many ways the most core of all,’ he told Channel 4 News. Asked if the UK was days, even hours, away from potential total meltdown, Bailey said: ‘I think at that point when we intervened, I can tell you that the messages we were getting from the markets were that it was hours.’
Footfall stumbles amid rising prices and tightening purse strings
Footfall took a stumble in its slow return to pre-pandemic levels as rising prices and tightening purse strings meant fewer consumers made trips to the shops, figures show.
Total UK footfall was down 11.8 per cent on October three years ago – a comparison to iron out pandemic discrepancies – two percentage points worse than October, according to British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic IQ data.
High Street footfall was down 11.6 per cent, although this was 0.3 percentage points better than last month’s rate and an improvement on the three-month average decline of 11.9 per cent. Retail park visits were down 3.7 per cent while shopping centres saw 21.8 per cent fewer visitors than October 2019.
The Mercedes EQS SUV goes on sale priced from £129,170
The new Mercedes EQS SUV has gone on sale in the UK, with prices starting from £129,170.
Two variants will be available from launch. The first is the four-wheel-drive EQS 450, which is capable of delivering up to 365 miles of range while the range-topping EQS 580 extends this up to 364 miles.
Two specifications will be available as well. Premium Plus includes a panoramic roof, 21-inch alloy wheels and Nappa leather upholstery, while Business Class adds an MBUX augmented head-up display and rear-seat entertainment, among other features. The EQS SUV can also be fitted with the new Mercedes Hyperscreen which uses three high-definition displays, which combine to create one ultra-wide screen across the dashboard.
Weather outlook
A dry and fine day for most, reports BBC Weather, with plenty of sunshine. Scattered showers will move into the north-west at times, however.
It’ll start dry and clear tonight but a heavy band of rain will push in from west across Northern Ireland, Wales and south-west England.
