UK BUDGET 2020

Homeowners are to be given subsidies to reduce their carbon footprints under budget plans to help Britain hit its 2050 net zero target (The Times, £, p15). Under proposals being considered by chancellor Sajid Javid, the Treasury is looking at a scheme to 'share the cost? of upgrading homes to reduce carbon emissions.

Separately, The Telegraph (£, B1) reports that experts have warned plans for a so-called mansion tax and reform of tax relief could lead to ?huge losses? for savers. According to The Telegraph, the chancellor is considering limiting tax relief on pension contributions to 20 per cent and introducing a recurring wealth tax on the owners of expensive homes in the upcoming budget.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has urged the government to review the apprenticeship levy (City AM, p9) and is arguing that a review of business rates, which it said were putting the economy ?at a competitive disadvantage?, must be completed this year.

The Institute of Directors (IoD) has urged the chancellor to reduce business rates when firms refurbish, expand or relocate premises (The Times, £, p36). It said a rates ?holiday? for expanding firms would ?provide a vital uplift? to the economy as Britain leaves the EU.

TASKFORCE WARNS THAT IMF IS A DIMINISHED FORCE

A taskforce of currency experts has said they fear the International Monetary Fund (IMF) no longer has the firepower to act as the world's lender of last resort in an emergency (The Telegraph, £, B1).

A surge in offshore dollar lending has seen it rise to $18 trillion overwhelming the safety buffers of the existing financial architecture. The taskforce warned in an advisory report for G20 ministers, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and the IMF that 'the risk of an unexpected and unplanned reversal of abundant global liquidity hangs over the world economy. Strong contagion across markets could make the endogenous dynamics of global liquidity very dangerous?.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Tony Blake, Head of Fraud Prevention at the Dedication Card and Payments Crime Unit (DCPCU) spoke on BBC One's Fraud Squad about the details of a DCPCU investigation into two fraudsters who stole over £180,000 from two elderly women.

The Social Market Foundation thinktank has urged the government to set targets to increase employee share ownership for large listed companies (The Times, £, p35).

Companies are being forced to pay for separate insurance policies to guard against IT problems, due to changes by property insurers, following a move by the Bank of England to improve industry transparency (The Telegraph, B3, print only).

The FTSE 100 edged down this morning as the coronavirus outbreak was declared a 'serious? UK health threat, knocking investor confidence (City AM, online only).

The UK gambling sector saw its first ever decline last year following an industry shake-up caused by higher taxes, action against problem gambling and tighter regulation, including the ban on betting with credit cards (Financial Times, £, p13).

WHAT THE COMMENTATORS SAY

William Russell, Lord Mayor of London, writes in City AM (p16) that the financial services sector will be key as the UK charts its course on the world stage. Mr Russell says the continued strength of the UK financial sector should not be underestimated, either in the coming trade negotiations with the EU or in terms of our links to countries beyond Europe.

The UK operates a services trade surplus with the EU, with financial and professional services making up more than half of services exports to the bloc. Mr Russell says that ahead of the Dubai Expo and COP26 in Glasgow, his visits this week to the Middle East are an opportunity to make a running start in a year of huge joint engagement on sustainability and green finance.

Mr Russell concludes by saying it is time for the UK to renew its trade ties with old friends and forge new ones with others as we ensure the UK's financial services sector can continue its global success story for decades to come.

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