Yes, retail investment needs a boost – but the squirrel looks too tame | Nils Pratley

Red squirrel characters have a history in the public information game. Older UK readers may recall Tufty, who taught children about road safety in the 1970s. His chum, Willy Weasel, regularly got knocked down by passing cars but clever Tufty always remembered to look both ways.Now comes Savvy Squirrel, who, with backing from the chancellor and a multi-year lump of advertising spend from the financial services industry, will try “to drive a step-change in how investing is understood, discussed and adopted”, as the blurb puts it. In translation: don’t squirrel everything away in a boring cash Isa but try taking an investment risk or two if you value your long-term financial health

Capital gains tax changes are on the table, and yet Armageddon has not arrived. Has the tide on housing turned at last? | Greg Jericho

A funny thing happened on the way to the budget: changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing, which had for years been a no-go zone, are now looking likely.One of the first times I wrote about negative gearing was in 2015 when I covered the then treasurer Joe Hockey appearing on Q+A. He said negative gearing was needed because when the Hawke government scrapped it in the 1980s rental prices rose.He was wrong (and to be honest, this was not unusual – a lot of my columns back then involved arguing Joe Hockey was wrong). While rental price growth went up in Sydney and Perth, it didn’t in Melbourne, Brisbane or Adelaide

Middle East war ‘could wipe out 75% of chancellor’s budget headroom’; UK inflation climbs to 3.3% – as it happened

Oil prices have gone back above $100 a barrel again.Reversing earlier declines, Brent crude is now 2.1% ahead at $100.57 a barrel, after Iran seized two ships in the strait of Hormuz, tightening its grip on the strategic waterway. Overnight, Donald Trump extended the two-week ceasefire between the US and Iran, until Tehran comes up with a peace proposal

Ryanair to close check-in 20 minutes earlier amid concern over Europe border queues

Ryanair will close airport check-in desks 20 minutes earlier to avoid passengers missing flights, it has announced, amid concern over border queues in Europe.The budget airline, which carries 200 million passengers annually, will require all passengers dropping bags or checking in at the airport to do so one hour before take-off rather than the current 40-minute deadline.Ryanair said the change, which will take effect from November, would give more time for passengers to clear airport security and passport control and reduce the number who miss flights through being stuck in queues.While the move was not prompted by the introduction of Europe’s entry-exit system (EES), which requires most non-EU citizens to provide biometric data at the border, the airline said the system had been a factor in increasing passport queues.Waits of several hours have been reported at some airports in the phased introduction of EES since October

Tui cuts profit forecast as effects of Iran war cost travel group €40m

The Iran war has cost the travel company Tui €40m (£34.7m) so far, including repatriating almost 12,000 holidaymakers and staff, and forced it to cut its profit forecast for this year.Europe’s biggest holiday operator said it had taken the hit in March owing to the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, as it was forced to bring home 5,000 guests from two cruise ships anchored in ports in Abu Dhabi and Doha.A further 5,000 European holidaymakers were also repatriated from destinations in the region, with Tui saying its operations in Turkey, Cyprus and Egypt were particularly badly affected.In addition, the company returned 1,500 crew members from the ships, which were able to escape through the strait of Hormuz “during a pause in hostilities” on Sunday, and will commence their summer season itineraries in the Mediterranean from the middle of next month

UK inflation rises to 3.3% amid biggest jump in fuel prices in more than three years

UK inflation accelerated to 3.3% in March after the Iran war triggered the biggest jump in fuel prices for more than three years.In the first official snapshot of the damage to living standards in Britain from the US-Israeli war on Iran, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the consumer prices index increased last month from a rate of 3% in February. The rise matched the forecasts by City economists.Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, said: “Inflation climbed in March, largely due to increased fuel prices … Air fares were another upward driver this month, alongside rising food prices