Spectator money

The row over a sharp rise in business rates rumbles on – but now the government has bowed to sustained pressure and announced help for small firms. The Guardian reports that Philip Hammond will announce new measures in the budget on 8 March following comments by the communities secretary that more should be done ‘to level the playing field’. At Prime Minister’s questions yesterday, Theresa May said that small businesses left with the highest rate increases would be given help. Stamp duty The Times reports that ‘sharp increases in the stamp duty on expensive homes are costing the Treasury as much as £500 million a year’. According to new analysis by Paul Nash, a

Lloyds Banking Group has set aside a further £475 million for misconduct costs as the bank’s statutory profits more than doubled to £4.2 billion. The Times reports on results that Lloyds called a ‘good overall performance’. Its profits are the highest for a decade and shares in the bank rose by 4 per cent after the announcement. The bank, in which taxpayers own a stake of just under 5 per cent, also unveiled an 11 per cent rise in total dividends to £2.2 billion and the same percentage increase in staff bonuses to £393 million. Underlying profits fell from £8.1 billion to £7.9 billion. Investment After a sustained period of record

There’s some bad news for employees with generous company pensions following the publication of a government green paper on the future of Defined Benefit (DB) pensions. The Guardian reports that, under the proposals, firms could cut pension promises to 11 million people, dramatically reducing their income in retirement. The plans are likely to face fierce opposition from unions given they would permit companies to save £90 billion by providing annual increases in their retired employees’ pensions based on the consumer price index, rather than the retail price index. Analysis by Hargreaves Lansdown suggests that for every £1,000 in pension income in 1988, under RPI it had increased to £2,586 this year,

The prospect of swingeing cuts to public services edged closer today despite plans by nearly every local authority in England to raise council tax in 2017. The BBC reports that rises of up to 4.99 per cent are expected across the country. Nevertheless, libraries, bin collections and other services will still face funding problems. The Local Government Association says the cost of care for increasing numbers of elderly people is forcing up bills. But a spokesman for the Department for Communities and Local Government insisted that local authorities had been given a ‘historic’ four-year settlement. Bovis Homes  Following widespread publicity of the alleged shoddy quality of new houses built by Bovis, The Guardian

There’s more on the government’s upcoming changes to business rates today, with a group of Britain’s biggest employers’ associations condemning the move. The BBC reports on a letter written by 13 groups, including the British Retail Consortium, the Federation of Small Businesses, Revo, the Association of Convenience Stores, the British Property Federation and the CBI, who want ministers to drop the ‘outrageous’ increases to business rates. They are particularly angry about a clause they believe could prevent firms appealing against rate rises, even if firms can prove they are wrong. The next business rates revaluation comes into effect on 1 April – the first for seven years. Retirees The Guardian reports on research by

All eyes are on the latest inflation data, released this morning. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), inflation has reached its highest rate for two-and-a-half years. As measured by the Consumer Prices Index, annual inflation hit 1.8 per cent last month, up from 1.6 per cent in December. This is largely due to the rising cost of fuel, and is the fourth consecutive month that the rate has risen. Statistics from the RAC show that fuel prices peaked at a two-year high in early February. Dominic Baliszewski, director of consumer strategy for Momentum UK, said: ‘A lot of people will be feeling the pinch, with disposable income taking a big hit. This fall in spending

Some gloomy data for retailers this morning following the news that the high street has recorded its worst January sales since 2013. According to BDO, like-for-like sales fell by 0.1 per cent. This is the first negative growth in the new year discounting period in four years. The accountancy group added that rising prices and political uncertainty had affected consumer confidence and spending in the busiest two months of the shopping calendar (this includes December). The hardest hit were fashion sales. Council tax Households already feeling the pinch are now facing an increase in council tax. The Daily Mail reports that almost all of England’s town halls have pledged to implement

Rents have been in the news this week thanks to the Government’s Housing White Paper. Now the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says that rents will continue to rise with shortage of stock a key factor. ThisisMoney reports that rents will soar by 25 per cent over the next five years. Meanwhile, as far as house prices are concerned, chartered surveyors say they anticipate a rise of just under 20 per cent. A recent stamp duty increase for landlords and other tax changes have combined to make buy-to-lets as potential investments less attractive. According to the January 2017 RICS UK Residential Market Survey, 28 per cent more surveyors said they felt landlords are more likely