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ULEZ financial support scrappage scheme explained as Sadiq Khan refuses to back down | Personal Finance | Finance

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The ultra-low emission zone (ULEZ) scrappage scheme is being expanded as Sadiq Khan refuses to back down from criticism.

Residents of the UK’s capital city will now be entitled to grants of up to £2,000, according to the Mayor of London.

Under this scheme, drivers are awarded grants to help pay for replacements for their polluting vehicles.

Up until now, the scrappage scheme has only been available to Londoners on certain benefits and businesses with less than 50 employees.

However, as of today, the grant initiative will now apply to any residents with a non-compliant vehicle.

This comes ahead of ULEZ’s expansion into all of London’s 32 boroughs on August 29, which will bring an additional five million people into the environmental scheme’s purview

Vehicles which do not meet ULEZ standards have to pay £12.50 a day to enter a low-emission zone.

With this latest expansion by Sadiq Khan, the Mayor has invested £160million in this iteration of the scrappage scheme.

The initiative will operate on a first come first serve basis with low-income and disabled London residents already having had seven months to apply.

Here is a breakdown of the grant support available to qualifying London residents as of today, August 4:

  • Grants for small businesses and charities with a non-compliant van will rise from £5,000 to £7,000
  • Grants for wheelchair-accessible vehicles will rise from £5,000 to £10,000
  • Grants for scrapping minibuses will rise from £7,000 to £9,000
  • Grants to replace a non-compliant van with an electric van will rise from £7,500 to £9,500
  • Grants to replace a non-compliant minibus with an electric minibus will rise from £9,500 to £11,500
  • Retrofit grants will rise from £5,000 to £6,000.

Here is a breakdown of the grant support that will be available to qualifying London residents as of August 21:

  • Residents with a non-compliant car will be eligible for a £2,000 grant
  • Residents with a non-compliant car will be eligible for a $1,000 grant.

On this latest ULEZ development, Mr Khan said: “I’m determined to make sure that no Londoner and no London business is left behind and I’ll carry on listening.

“These policies are policies that are popular when they’re properly explained I’m quite clear that I’m simply not willing to delay, water down or step back on these vital public health and green policies.”

Despite this financial support, some critics have taken aim over whether £2,000 is enough for Londoners to upgrade their cars.

Susan Hall, the Conservative Party’s candidate for the next London mayor election next May, explained: “The grants aren’t sufficient as prices for used cars and vans have gone up and the expansion in eligibility doesn’t come into effect until a week before the Ulez.”



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Over 50% Americans Believe AI Will Snatch Job Of Someone In Their Household: Survey

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More than half of Americans are worried that the development of AI will cause them or someone in their household to lose their job, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos survey. The study also revealed a broad anxiety over the technology’s rapid adoption.

The survey showed 53% of Americans expressed concern, according to the six-day study that finished on Monday. This concern was distributed pretty evenly among respondents by age, gender, and educational attainment.

A total of 10% of respondents were either unsure or chose not to respond to the question, while 37% of respondents claimed they were not concerned about this at all.

The software company Intuit announced last month that it would lay off 17% of its global workforce in order to streamline operations and sharpen focus on its main bets, including its AI efforts. The Reuters/Ipsos survey came after a wave of AI-related job layoffs by large corporations.

ALSO READ | Gemini Down: Outage Complaints Spike As Users Find Google AI Platform Inaccessible

When Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, talked about the implications of artificial intelligence at a graduation ceremony last month, University of Arizona students jeered him.

Elected officials and even Pope Leo XIV have issued concerns due to its potential use in entertainment, political propaganda, and even warfare.

It’s unclear whether the U.S. job market, as a whole, will be negatively impacted by the numerous job losses that have been reported at IT companies. Recent months have seen significant job growth in the U.S. economy.

Republicans, who have drawn more working-class voters since President Donald Trump’s ascent, are less sceptical of AI than Democrats, whose party draws more college graduates. Compared to 47% of Republicans, 61% of Democrats expressed concern about AI replacing jobs in their home.

The results of the Reuters/Ipsos survey, which polled 4,531 American adults countrywide, had a two percentage point margin of error in either direction.

Jennifer Schalhoub, a 62-year-old freelance writer from Little Ferry, New Jersey, stated that she just lost her employment sending letters to government authorities to support particular legislation. She believes the development of AI played a part in her loss.

“People are becoming less concerned with the calibre of the job that is generated, which is why AI is taking over,” according to Schalhoub.

ALSO READ | Taiwan Eyes Curbs on AI Chip Sales to China to Align With US

In 2022, artificial intelligence gained national attention when OpenAI, a prominent AI company, introduced ChatGPT, a consumer-facing product that could respond to user inquiries like that of a human and provided a new method of internet search that immediately threatened Alphabet, the parent company of Google.

Another AI behemoth, Anthropic, has rapidly gained popularity among business clients, particularly through the sale of computer coding assistance, Claude Code. Anthropic and OpenAI’s intentions to offer their companies’ shares to the general public have created a lot of excitement on Wall Street.

According to the Reuters/Ipsos survey, 50% of college graduates said they often use AI, compared to 34% of non-graduates and 40% of the general population.

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Govt Extends MFI-Linked Scheme To Achieve Credit Flow Of Rs 20,000 Crore

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The government has extended the validity of the Credit Guarantee Scheme for Microfinance Institutions-2.0 (CGSMFI-2.0) until August 31, 2026, or until guarantees worth Rs 20,000 crore are issued, whichever comes first. 

It has also approved an increase in the maximum loan limit for large sized NBFC-MFIs and MFIs from Rs 300 crore to Rs 1,000 crore under the overall ceiling of 20% of assets under management, according to an official release.

The scheme aims to strengthen credit flow to the microfinance sector by providing guarantee cover through the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Co. against expected losses on lending by banks and financial institutions to NBFC-MFIs for onward lending to small borrowers.

As of now, loans totalling Rs 770 crore have been sanctioned under the scheme, reflecting early traction since its launch on March 20, 2026.

ALSO READ: India Counters US Section 301 Probe, Rejects Charge Of Forced Labour In Steel, Textile Sectors 

The extension and enhancement in loan limits are expected to improve utilisation of the scheme and support higher credit flow to the NBFC-MFI ecosystem, thereby expanding access to affordable credit for small borrowers across the country.

The government has also retained key risk sharing provisions under the scheme, including guarantee coverage of 80 percent of default amount for small MFIs, 75 percent for medium entities and 70 percent for large NBFC-MFIs, along with a guarantee fee of 0.50 percent per annum on sanctioned amounts in the first year and on outstanding thereafter.

Interest rates under the scheme remain capped at EBLR or MCLR plus 2 percent per annum, while on-lending norms ensure lower borrowing costs for end microfinance customers.

ALSO READ: India Infrastructure Lender Seeks Dollar Loan After RBI Move

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Issue Subscribed 4x As Investors’ $250B Demand Dwarfs $75B Offer

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX has attracted over $250 billion in investor demand for its initial public offering (IPO), far above the $75 billion the company is aiming to raise, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing sources privy to the development.

The IPO, seen as the world’s biggest-ever, has recorded subscription of four times the original ask. According to reports, wealth funds based in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have placed orders ranging from $1 billion to $5 billion each.

According to Reuters, SpaceX is still in the middle of its marketing campaign. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and finance head Bret Johnsen were scheduled to attend a lunch meeting with roughly 300 institutional investors on Tuesday at Morgan Stanley in downtown Manhattan, which was hosted by Morgan Stanley Co-President Dan Simkowitz, Reuters reported.

Rather than final allocations, which will be determined at pricing, subscription levels show indications of interest.

ALSO READ: Starlink’s India Launch Hits Security Roadblock Before SpaceX IPO

In its roadshow presentation and IPO documents, SpaceX highlights the strength of its Starlink internet business as well as the distinctive character of its rocket-launching business, which it claims has been responsible for the majority of mass launched into orbit over the last three years.

Additionally, SpaceX highlighted a $23 trillion market potential, which the company linked to its artificial intelligence capabilities.

ALSO READ: ChatGPT A ‘Superapp’? OpenAI May Integrate Agents, Coding, Imaging, Third-Party Services Into Single Platform

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