The UK’s economic outlook has ‘deteriorated materially’, leaving households with a ‘very uncertain’ future, the Bank of England has warned.

Families’ budgets are likely to be ‘stretched’ in the coming months, the Bank said in its latest Financial Stability Report.

Meanwhile, commercial banks were told to double their defences against a potential recession.

Inflation – already at a 40-year high of 9.1% is expected to hit 11% by this autumn.

Rising prices forced the bank to raise interest rates for the fifth time in a row last month.

Acknowledging the new 1.25% rate will make debt repayments more costly for businesses and households, it added: ‘Given this, we expect households to become more stretched in the coming months.’

The double whammy of rising costs and rates mean will ‘likely lead to some business failures’, it added.

Britain’s gloomy financial outlook was said to be mirrored by the rest of the world, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine chiefly to blame.

The impact of the war ‘could cause more disruption to global energy and food markets’, the report added, with further shortages on supermarket shelves and hikes to energy bills.

The Bank’s governor, Andrew Bailey, said the UK banking system ‘remains strong’ despite the weaker outlook but will be stress-tested later this year.

The resilience checks will make sure people’s deposits remain safe even if there are ‘deep simultaneous recessions in the UK and global economies, real income shocks, large falls in asset prices and higher global interest rates’.

Food price inflation in Britain is likely to peak at up to 15% this summer and will remain at high levels into 2023, a prominent grocery industry researcher warned on Thursday, dealing another blow to the country’s cash-strapped consumers.

In its latest report, the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) said the most vulnerable households in Britain would be hit hardest by the spike in food and drink prices.

Who is eligible for the £650 one-off payment to help with energy bills and when’s the deadline for applying?

THE Chancellor Rishi Sunak has unveiled a £15bn package aimed to support households hit by the cost-of-living crisis and the rising cost of energy.

The bail-out includes a one-off cost-of-living payment, but who’s eligible and when do you need to apply for it?

Who is eligible for the £650 one off payment to help with energy bills

Brits are facing a torrid time in the coming months with energy prices set to skyrocket.

In May 2022, Ofgem boss Jonathan Bearley said households could see their energy bills rise to a whopping £2,800 a year in October.

In response to the crisis, the Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that millions of people on Universal Credit and benefits will be eligible for a £650 payment, in addition to other measures.

Over eight million households will receive the lump-sum in two payments.

The dollar slipped on Monday as investors kept up selling pressure, cutting bets on further dollar gains from rising U.S. rates, while turning hopeful that loosening lockdowns in China can help global growth and exporters’ currencies.

U.S equity futures bounced sharply in the Asia session and pulled the region’s risk-sensitive currencies along for the ride, even as Asia’s stockmarkets wobbled.

The Aussie rose 0.5% to $0.7091 and has lifted 3.8% in a week and a half. The kiwi rose 0.8% to $0.6458, a three-week hits.

“It’s a reasonably positive start to the week,” said National Australia Bank’s head of foreign exchange strategy, Ray Attrill.

“The U.S. dollar looks, for the time being, to be losing upside momentum,” he said, tracking a small rally in U.S. bonds that has driven yields lower in recent sessions.

The euro and yen rose, with the Japanese currency up 0.4% to 127.35 per dollar and the euro up 0.2% at $1.0586 following last week’s 1.5% gain on the dollar.

Having an incorrect tax code could see one overpaying, underpaying or missing out on their entitlements for months or even years until they decide to check it.Getting the incorrect tax code is a simple error that can easily be solved by contacting HMRC online or through, 0300 200 3300. Britons have been urged to check their codes are correct and save themselves the financial heartache that these five Redditors experienced.

Russia-U

By Olivier Caslin
Posted on Wednesday, 4 May 2022

Faced with rising commodity prices that have accompanied the war in Ukraine, international traders, most of whom are based on the shores of Lake Geneva, are urgently reorganising their supply chain, with a particular focus on Africa.

By deciding on 29 February to align itself with Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to the ongoing conflict with Ukraine, thus placing its sacrosanct neutrality on hold, the Swiss Confederation made a decision the Swiss press described as “historic”.

In 2014, after Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Bern had draped itself in this same neutrality and its tradition of “good offices” in order to refrain from sanctioning oligarchs close to Vladimir Putin, following in the footsteps of the US and the EU.

But a Geneva editorialist says the situation is different this time around: “The Federal Council had no other choice this time, given the pressure exerted from all sides, from outside and inside the country.”

Thousands of people across the UK may be eligible for a boost on top of the £150 council tax discount.

The money could help the lowest-earning households manage rising bills as a cost of living crisis grips the nation.

Under the terms of the council tax grant, households in property bands A to D will get a £150 rebate on this year’s bills.

But in some areas households could get more free cash to cope with the cost of living crisis, while others who don’t quality could get targeted support, potentially adding an extra £40 on top.

On top of the main rebate scheme, 300 councils have been given a £144million discretionary fund.

“In recognition that billing authorities may wish to provide support to households who are not eligible under the terms of the main scheme, councils will receive a share of a £144million discretionary fund,” the government explains.

The fund has been issued to local authorities to help households who are battling rising prices and at risk of falling into the poverty bracket as well as those who may fall outside of the A to D scheme.

Some councils say the money will be offered to those in all bands – not just those in A to D properties. Others say the extra funding will be paid to the lowest earners automatically.

Support from the discretionary fund should consist of no more than £150 per household, according to the guidance.

This makes it the same amount as the council tax support.

It has been left up to local authorities to decide and publish their own eligibility criteria.

The guidance said this could include households living in property valued in bands E to H that are on income related benefits or those where the energy bills payers are not liable for council tax.

It suggested that students living in halls may not be eligible unless they are exposed to rising energy prices in a similar way to other households.

There is no timeline for when discretionary fund payments should start but local authorities have to spend the money by November 30 2022 or return it to central government.

Wyre Forest District Council, for example, is giving “top up” payments of £35 to households in all council tax bands.

You’ll get the cash if you live in the region and can prove you are facing financial hardship.

Bromley is giving out £40 top-up payments to those in bands A-D getting council tax support.

And in Hackney around 30,000 households getting a council tax reduction will automatically get an extra £30 payment, bringing the total help to £180.

• Twenty five councils that haven’t started paying £150 rebate yet as thousands left waiting

The schemes are targeted towards those already getting council tax support.

Ian Williams, the council’s finance and resources boss, said: “We know that many families in Hackney are struggling with the rising cost of living, and particularly higher energy bills this month.

“Using our discretionary funding in this way will mean that those most at risk from rising bills will get the extra help they need in the simplest way possible.”

You’ll need to contact your local authority to find out how they are distributing the extra funding.

This can be done on the gov.uk website.

Most residents that are eligible for the initial £150 council tax rebate should have been notified about their payments by now – this should appear on your council tax annual statement which details how much your bill is rising this year.

More than a dozen councils have also said that payments will start from May.

An estimated 2.8 million households are estimated to be missing out on council tax support worth £2.6 billion.

You can apply for a council tax reduction if you’re on a low income are vulnerable or live alone.

A lot of people and students who are looking to make some extra money are taking up Uber as a source of additional income.

In Uber, the drivers are called the partners and are treated as self-employed. A full time uber driver can make an average of £31,000 according to indeed an employment related website. Such drivers should register themselves with HMRC and fill in the self-assessment tax return. The deadline for submitting the self-assessment tax return is 31 January 2022.

While some drivers are driving full time there is a percentage of drivers who are driving Uber only for some extra cash. Since there is no requirement for the minimum number of hours that the Uber driver needs to drive some of them do it once a week or even once a month. Some are only doing the weekends and earning about £10-12 per hours. This means if these drivers are not earning more than £1,000, they will not have to register themselves for self-assessment. However, if they want to claim the expenses they incur and report loss that would be considered to reduce other income taxes it is advisable to register.

The allowable expenses are the expenses which will reduce your tax bill. Some examples of the expenses that the uber driver can claim are mileage claim- you can claim this allowance if you own a car, car purchase, car lease payments, uber commission and service charges, tolls and parking charges, business usage of the phone, accountant fees, vehicle and public liability, car cleaning, bank charges, etc.

However, you should note that an allowance cannot be used to create a loss. It is necessary to register yourself for self-assessment and file tax returns if you want to claim losses. For example, if your trading income is £900 and your expenses are £1000. you don’t need to tell HMRC about the income. However, if you want to claim the loss of £100 you will have to register for self-employment and fill the self-assessment tax return.

A person who is an employee with an employer and is also self-employed with Uber as an Uber partner they should pay taxes to HMRC differently.

Whether you should register with HMRC or not voluntarily depends on your individual situations. We at DBA accountancy can help you with it.

To understand more on how to pay taxes as an Uber driver, you can contact DBA accountancy and we will deal with your issues.

Morocco energy supplies ‘half the price of nuclear’ to enter UK via world’s longest cable.The UK Government is currently in discussions with XLinks to build and carry energy through the Morocco – UK Power project, which is a “first of its kind” underwater cable that will give Britain access to vast quantities of renewable energy. The energy startup is looking to build a 3,800km long pipeline, harnessing massive amounts of solar energy coming from Morocco, a country that boasts of some of the most favourable conditions anywhere in the world for capturing solar energy.

A group of people and entities have filed a class action lawsuit against Credit Suisse (CSGN.S), alleging that the Swiss bank misled investors over business dealings related to Russian oligarchs, law firm Pomerantz LLP said.

Credit Suisse did not comment when contacted by Reuters.

The lawsuit, filed in a New York district court, is on behalf of people and entities who acquired Credit Suisse securities between March 19, 2021 and March 25, 2022, Pomerantz said in a statement issued late on Friday.