The NHS consultants’ retirement/re-recruitment crisis has made an impact on the leadership campaign for the Conservative Party. Frontrunner Liz Truss says that she would halt the NHS doctor exodus with reforms – seemingly an easing of the LTA in some way.
Advisers on social media are pointing out that the current friction with senior staff is mostly over the annual allowance and concerns about extra tax bills.
It does pose all manner of issues to do with fairness of course across professions but perhaps it is justified when many aspects of the state, utilities and services are in something of a crisis. Be good to see the crucial allowance addressed, however.
Lib Dem peer Baroness Kramer has called for an judge-led inquiry into the Blackmore bond failure. The bond featured on Panorama last week amid accusations that the FCA failed to act on warnings about the bond, or at least to act with sufficient thoroughness. It did force the closure of a website at one stage.
Of course, two judge-led inquiries led to the current transformation programme at the FCA but this latest debacle just about predates it. Part of the problem was that the Blackmore marketing was certainly aimed not just at sophisticated, better off investors but at the mainstream which is clearly not allowed. At the same time, we should really ask can the FCA cover the mini-bond market effectively? I doubt it has the resource or even headspace at board level.
China has cut its interest rate to 2.75 from 2.85 per cent due to low growth which many blame on its continued zero Covid policy. One worrying figure is youth unemployment at 11 per cent.
Rathbones’ head of multi-asset investments David Coombs is approaching the next half-year with ‘extreme caution’ as the global economy continues to behave erratically.
Around three quarters of advisers are sticking with global funds for their equity exposure according to an FTAdviser poll.
