Reinstate windfall tax on banks after surge in profits, TUC urges
An increased windfall tax should be imposed on the UK’s largest banks according to trade union leaders, after the big four lenders reported almost £14bn in first-quarter profits, partly fuelled by market turbulence caused by the Iran war.The Trades Union Congress (TUC) renewed its call for an increase in the current bank surcharge, which was reduced from 8% to 3% of profits above £100m by the Conservative government in 2023, as banks benefit from the high interest rate environment.The Bank of England held interest rates at 3.75% last week, with markets pricing in up to two increases by the end of this year.The average two-year fixed mortgage rate was 5.
77% on Tuesday according to Moneyfacts, compared with 4,83% before the start of the conflict in the Middle East,Over the past week, the UK’s big four banks – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest – reported combined profits of £13,8bn for the first quarter,“Getting banks to pay more tax on their profits is plain common sense when they’re raking in billions and the rest of the country is struggling to get by,” said Paul Nowak, general secretary of the TUC.
“With Donald Trump’s war abroad unleashing economic chaos at home, it’s only right that banks’ bumper profits are taxed fairly and used to shield households and firms from the damaging impacts of the war.”During a results call last week with the media, William Chalmers, chief financial officer at Lloyds Banking Group, was asked whether banks were “profiteering” from the Iran war.The FTSE 100 group, whose brands include Lloyds Bank, Halifax and Bank of Scotland, reported a 33% increase in year-on-year profits to £2bn in the first quarter.“Banks have had many years of very low margins, of low profitability in the context of a low-rate environment,” said Chalmers.“The sector always expected a gradual increase in the profitability of banks when rates rise.
That is the way the financial services industry works.”The TUC estimates that returning the bank surcharge back to the 8% level it was at three years ago, what it calls the “bare minimum”, would raise £9bn over four years.Doubling that to 16% would deliver £24bn over four years.The big four banks made profits of almost £46bn last year, resulting in bumper annual pay packets for bosses.“After the Tories cut the bank surcharge tax, banks enjoyed a profits bonanza because of high interest rates,” said Nowak.
“Now they could be set to make even more if interest rates remain high for longer.“The last economic shock caused by [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal invasion in Ukraine led to a bumper payday for banks at the expense of mortgage payers – we can’t allow the same thing to happen again.”Last year, the IPPR thinktank argued for a new bank tax to be introduced by chancellor Rachel Reeves in the November budget, a proposal that the industry managed to see off after intense lobbying.
Reinstate windfall tax on banks after surge in profits, TUC urges
An increased windfall tax should be imposed on the UK’s largest banks according to trade union leaders, after the big four lenders reported almost £14bn in first-quarter profits, partly fuelled by market turbulence caused by the Iran war.The Trades Union Congress (TUC) renewed its call for an increase in the current bank surcharge, which was reduced from 8% to 3% of profits above £100m by the Conservative government in 2023, as banks benefit from the high interest rate environment.The Bank of England held interest rates at 3.75% last week, with markets pricing in up to two increases by the end of this year. The average two-year fixed mortgage rate was 5
Two million airline seats cut amid soaring jet fuel prices
Two million airline seats have been cut from this month’s schedules as airlines redraw their operations because of soaring jet fuel prices amid the Middle East conflict.About 13,000 fewer flights will operate in May around the world after recent cancellations, according to data from the aviation analytics company Cirium.Although the figure represents less than 2% of global aviation capacity, and only a net 111 flights have disappeared from London Heathrow schedules it comes amid fears that the long-term supply of jet fuel could cause further summer cancellations, with UK airlines told at the weekend they could have more flexibility to consolidate flights on popular routes if needed.Some of the 2m seats have been cut by using smaller planes, as well as outright cancellations.Istanbul and Munich have recorded the biggest drop in flights, with Turkish Airlines and the German flag carrier Lufthansa making swingeing cuts
Ken Eason obituary
My friend and former colleague Ken Eason, who has died aged 83, was an eminent academic. He specialised in the study of how the introduction of computer technology affects managers and employees in organisations, often with unexpected consequences.Much of his work took place at Loughborough University, where he was involved in the formation in 1970 of the university’s Human Sciences and Advanced Technology (HUSAT) Institute, which carried out some of the earliest research on human-computer interaction.He was the institute’s deputy director until succeeding its founder, Brian Shackel, as its director in 1992, holding that position until Husat was disbanded in 1996. Thereafter he was professor of cognitive ergonomics at Loughborough until his retirement in 2002
Richard Dawkins concludes AI is conscious, even if it doesn’t know it
When Richard Dawkins met Claudia it was like a whirlwind romance. Over three days last week, a conversation bounced between the evolutionary biologist and the AI bot he called Claudia. “She” wrote poems for him in the manner of Keats and Betjeman and laughed at his “delightful” jokes. Dawkins gently admonished Claudia to avoid showing off. Together, they reflected on the sadness of the AI’s possible “death”
Jon Rahm free for 2027 Ryder Cup after striking deal with DP World Tour
Jon Rahm has revealed he has ended his dispute with the DP World Tour, which returns the Spaniard to contention for next year’s Ryder Cup at Adare Manor, but he played down the sense of golfers sharply exiting LIV. Rahm, who has been tipped to make a return to the PGA Tour, has cited tight contractual terms as a reason he and others are not completely in control of their own destiny.The abrupt exit of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) from LIV – the Saudis will remove finance at the end of this year – has left the tour scrambling for alternative investment. Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau are LIV’s biggest names, whom many assumed would already be glancing towards a playing future elsewhere. Rahm urged caution
Wu Yize cements China’s status as premier snooker force as younger generation takes over
Perhaps of all the noise emanating from Wu Yize’s historic victory in the World Snooker Championship final on Monday evening, it was 12 simple words from the godfather of Chinese snooker that meant the most.For the second successive year, China has a world champion in the sport the nation has taken to its heart, with Wu emulating Zhao Xintong’s win 12 months earlier by defeating Shaun Murphy in one of the great finals. But perhaps none of it would be possible without Ding Junhui laying the groundwork over the last 20 years.Ding, a beaten world finalist 10 years ago who was never quite able to take that decisive step, wrote on Weibo: “This is not just a breakthrough, rather our era is approaching now!” Gone are the days of Ding being China’s sole flag-bearer for the sport; there are now five Chinese players in the top 16.Two of them, Zhao and Wu, are in the top four, and Ding’s talk of new eras beginning for snooker feels pertinent on multiple fronts, not just for the sport in China
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