Sunday newspaper round-up: Global reckoning, Pensions, Pubs
HSBC boss Noel Quinn has warned that a "global reckoning" may be approaching after debt ballooned in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and during the Covid pandemic. That is because the world economy's rate of growth is too slow to handle the pace at which government debt is rising. Inflation and the interest rate increases that go with it are hampering the bounce-back following the pandemic. Those higher rates also mean that government's borrowing costs are going up. That is especially true in European countries such as Italy, but also for the UK. - The Sunday Telegraph
Millions of Britons who depend on full state pensions to finance their retirement risk having to pay taxes in coming years. That is the alarming result of a more comprehensive £75bn per year stealth raid from 2027-28 which equates to an additional 9p on the pound in income taxes. It is the result of the Chancellor's decision to impose a punishing six-year freeze on tax allowances and thresholds. The stealth freeze will also see millions of lower earners soon having to pay income tax because their personal allowance is now stuck. - The Financial Mail on Sunday
The number of venues serving alcohol in Britain continues to decline and fell below 100,000 for the first time on record as the price of beer and wine soar. New figures from consultancy CGA/NIQ show that 44,000 pubs, restaurants and hotel bars have closed across the past two decades to reach 99,916 in September. That is about 6 venues per day. There are exceptions however, such as Liverpool and Manchester, while rural areas and towns have suffered most. Over the past year, the average cost of a pint of lager has risen from £4.09 to £4.57. That is still less than the £5.86 that one must pay in France, but more than £4.30 that a lager costs in Italy. - The Sunday Times
Prices for electric vehicles may shoot higher on the back of China's threat to limit exports of graphite, a key raw material in battery manufacturing. The concern is that more rules could severely hamper production at car batteries outside the Asian giant. So much so that soon owning an electric vehicle could be a privilege rather than a necessity, according to John Meyer, a mining analyst at SP Angel. - The Financial Mail on Sunday