Jobs, lending, energy bills and inheritance

Companies have cut new graduate jobs for the first time in four years because of fears about the economy since the Brexit vote. The number of vacancies has fallen by 8 per cent compared with last year, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters’ annual survey. The Times reports that the latest figures follow four years of growth and last year the number of graduate jobs increased by 13 per cent. This year’s fall also reflects nervousness about the effect of the incoming apprenticeship levy, which will be introduced in April with the aim of raising cash from business to fund expanded training in the workplace, the association said. Meanwhile, hiring of new permanent staff in the UK has stalled in the weeks since the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, recruitment firm Hays has said. The Telegraph reports that the FTSE 250 company, which recruits for large public and private-sector employers in the UK and abroad, said trading conditions had become more challenging as the year progressed, meaning net fees for the UK and Ireland division, which accounts for more than a third of the group’s business, were flat.