The CBI outlined three key areas for the chancellor to focus on to give businesses the boost they need to exit the lockdown. Photo: Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has outlined three areas for chancellor Rishi Sunak to focus on in next week’s Budget to help businesses out of lockdown.
The CBI has called on Sunak to focus on jobs, confidence and investment to give firms the “boost they need to bring the UK back to growth.”
CBI, which represents 190,000 businesses of all sizes and sectors across the UK, is urging the chancellor to hone in on “policies that will catalyse business investment” in key areas like jobs, skills and innovation.
It said that business is also looking to Sunak to incentivise green investment to set them on track to net zero.
The group warned that firms that are still in “emergency mode” are “sounding alarm bells” that any significant tax rises in the short-term will “stifle their ability to invest, hamper UK competitiveness and hold back our recovery.”
Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Economist, said that “this Budget is like no other, with many businesses still on their knees” after the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The prime minister’s roadmap for easing restrictions and the chancellor’s forthcoming Budget represents two parts of the same story — bookending the immediate COVID-19 crisis by relieving firms under pressure and setting the economy on a path to recovery,” he added.
The three key areas that the CBI has identified are:
Protecting jobs, firms and livelihoods in the immediate term by extending furlough, providing further VAT deferrals and giving firms (including in vital supply chains) a further business rates holiday.
Get businesses investing, by using incentives to spur investment in skills, jobs and innovation. This includes vouchers to get SMEs investing in digital technologies; unlocking investment in training by reforming the Apprenticeship Levy; and setting up the new National Infrastructure Bank to crowd-in investment.
Provide the vision for a long-term plan for economic growth. From green investment incentives to laying the groundwork for a fundamental reform of the unfair and uncompetitive business rates system, businesses want a signal of intent about the future of the economy.
Newton-Smith continued: “But this can’t just be about the here and now. We need to match the urgent need to protect jobs and firms with giving everyone a glimpse of an ambitious vision for the future of the economy. That means giving firms the confidence they need to invest by committing to the kind of pro-business environment that would help them to compete with the world’s best.
“Consumption and government spending alone can’t set us on the path to recovery. We need a dynamic and competitive business community powering us forward. That means avoiding any moves in the short-term that would hold business back from doing what it does best: innovating, creating jobs and delivering greater prosperity for all.”
CBI’s calls follow a slew of plans the Treasury announced ahead of the chancellor’s second Budget on 3 March to help get the country back on track post-Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic.
“Now we’ve left the EU and taken back control of our borders, we want to make sure our immigration system helps businesses attract the best talent from around the world,” Sunak said.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets also climbed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in the base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets were mixed.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 172.18 points at 23,383.35.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 34.99 points at 40,826.72. The S&P 500 index was up 10.56 points at 5,564.69, while the Nasdaq composite was up 74.84 points at 17,470.37.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.55 cents US compared with 73.59 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up $2.00 at US$69.31 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up five cents at US$2.32 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$40.00 at US$2,582.40 an ounce and the December copper contract was up six cents at US$4.20 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
