The top commercial news this week has surrounded the Budget unveiled by Philip Hammond on Wednesday. In the wake of this, the Resolution Foundation and the Institute for Fiscal Studies have made some grim predictions regarding the future of the UK economy. Also in the news were Uber and easyJet.
The Budget has been the big news this week. Key points include removal of stamp duty for first-time buyers on properties up to £300,000, the NHS is to get £2.8bn extra funding, and £1.5bn is to go towards changes to Universal Credit. The BBC have done a summary of all the key points. Deloitte have also put together a budget calculator so you can see how the changes will affect you.
Uber have been in the news for a number of reasons this week. It has been revealed that hackers stole the details of 57 million customers and Uber paid £75,000 for the data to be deleted. The company has also made a deal with Volvo to purchase thousands of self-driving cars once they are in production.
The Resolution Foundation has released data which predicts the longest period of falling living standards since records began. The report says that the UK economy will be £42bn smaller in 2020 than was indicated in predictions made in March.
To add to these financial concerns, the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Britain’s leading financial think tank, has forecasted that there will be no earnings growth in the next two decades. The report also predicted that borrowing will be £12bn higher in 2021 than was predicted in March and the NHS has tough times ahead with the tightest constraints on its funding since the 1980s.
Dame Carolyn McCall, chief executive of easyJet is leaving the airline at the end of the month. She leaves the company in a strong position: shares have almost trebled in value since she joined the company in 2010 and difficulties at rival airlines have benefited easyJet. She will be replaced by Johan Lundgren, a former director at Tui.
