Friday newspaper round-up: Osborne, Economic growth, Lloyds

5th Jun 2015 07:26

George Osborne will miss his deficit-reduction target by more than a year, the British Chambers of Commerce has warned, as it cut its UK growth forecast for 2015. In its second economic update this year, the business group said that the chancellor would need to extend his austerity programme "at least until the end of the decade" to move the budget into surplus as tax receipts remained weak. - The TimesThe British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) today scaled back its economic growth forecast, dealing a fresh blow to hopes for a sustainable UK recovery. The downgrade for 2015 GDP expansion to 2.3 per cent from 2.7 per cent comes just days after data showed Britain's key services sector suffered its sharpest slowdown in growth for nearly four years in May. - ScotsmanLloyds is reportedly due to be fined a record sum for mis-handling PPI complaints, as the bill for the scandal continues to rise.The fine, said to be more than £100m, would be the latest blow to the bank, which has already paid billions to settle mis-selling claims, and could open the door for thousands of historic cases being reopened. - The Daily TelegraphBuilding companies are "hoarding" sites for 300,000 homes and delaying the completion of estates to keep prices high, a report by the Campaign to Protect Rural England suggests. The report says the companies claim to be concerned about the shortage of new homes but they are "drip feeding" the market, often taking more than five years to complete a development. - The Times Britain has re-entered the list of the ten countries with highest unleaded prices in the world despite prices at UK pumps falling below the level seen in 2013 when it last featured. The high level of tax on fuel in the UK has meant British drivers have seen less benefit from falls in global oil prices than many of their international counterparts, pushing it further up the list. - The Daily Mail