Money News

During the pandemic, many UK workers were required to switch an office lifestyle for a work from home set-up. Now, even after the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted, workers can still claim a tax rebate for working from home.

During the pandemic, many UK workers were required to switch an office lifestyle for a work from home set-up.

Rising prices have caused some families to stress about their finances – with some already discussing strategies with their financial planner to cope. What you may not have considered, though, is how the cost of living crisis could affect your children.

Rising prices have caused some families to stress about their finances – with some already discussing strategies with their financial planner to cope.

Consumer card spending grew once again in June, driven by the increased price of fuel, according to the latest Barclaycard spending report. The study, which records almost half of total consumer card spending in the UK for June, found that there was a 4.4% increase in spending on essential items from the year to June. These include items like food, drink, and fuel.

Consumer card spending grew once again in June, driven by the increased price of fuel, according to the latest Barclaycard spending report.

Nickel briefly crossed a record high of $100,000 a ton after fresh supply concerns from impending Russian sanctions. As commodity prices continue to rise across the globe in response to Russia’s invasion to Ukraine, nickel prices rose above $100,000 a ton today on the London Metal Exchange (LME). “Nickel prices seriously hit nerves today, with trading suspended on the London Metal Exchange, after a record-breaking spike in prices,” said Susannah Streeter, Senior Investment and Markets Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. This has been caused by supply fears for the metal due to the war in Ukraine.

Nickel briefly crossed a record high of $100,000 a ton after fresh supply concerns from impending Russian sanctions.

Potential sanctions on Russia could affect Europe’s energy supply. The price of oil rose to $103 a barrel this morning after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military invasion of Ukraine. This is the highest price since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Since the beginning of the year, oil prices have increased by more than $20 a barrel. “As military action escalates, we can now expect a steady trickle of further sanctions throughout the day, which will have ramifications across the markets,” said Giles Coghlan, Chief Analyst at HYCM. However, there is an immediate concern that the current events will impact Europe’s supply of oil and gas. “Just yesterday, the Bank of England’s Governor, Andrew Bailey, stated that there is an upside risk to energy prices from the invasion,” confirmed Coghlan.   According to Reuters, Russia is the world’s second-largest oil producer and makes up 35% of Europe’s energy supply. If tough sanctions were imposed on Russia, there are fears it would cut off Europe’s access to its oil and gas. For the UK, this potential impact is not expected to be as severe on its gas supply when compared to European neighbours. This is because over 80% of Britain’s gas is sourced from the North Sea or imported from Norway, according to the Guardian. Instead, the price of gas will likely become the UK’s biggest problem if markets rise in Europe, the article stated. The conflict has also impacted other commodities, with gold’s value increasing over the past month as tensions deepened.

Potential sanctions on Russia could affect Europe’s energy supply.