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British banks will find out on Tuesday if the Bank of England wants them to start building up extra capital buffers to guard against looser lending standards and prepare for this year's test of their crisis resilience. Barclays, HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are some of the lenders subject to the BoE's 'stress tests', which in previous years have assessed if they could cope with a house price crash or an emerging market slump. These banks and other lenders may also have to set aside more funds if the central bank decides the time is right to raise the cyclical element of its capital framework, which rises and falls as the risk of imprudent lending changes over the course of a business cycle. Members of the central bank's Financial Policy Committee, who met this week, were split in December on whether it was time to raise the new counter-cyclical capital buffer banks must hold to 1 percent - its neutral level - from zero. Even if the buffer d...

George Osborne today announced a 25p per litre sugar tax on fizzy drinks from 2018 - and within seconds sent shares in the soft drinks industry plummeting. Campaigners including Jamie Oliver were celebrating the Chancellor's Budget decision, which will raise an estimated £520 million a year. Share prices in Coca-Cola's British arm, Britvic, which makes 7 Up, Robinsons squash and Tango, and Irn-Bru maker A.G. Barr fell by up to 27p per share within seconds of the announcement. Shares in  Coca Cola UK, whose drinks would be subject to a levy, also slumped by 20p after Mr Osborne's announcement Jolt: Shares in soft drink giant Britvic, left, which makes Tango, right, R. White's Lemonade, and Robinsons squash, saw its share price fall more than 20p the moment George Osborne announced the sugar tax The NHS has hailed the decision as brave but some have branded it a tax on Britain's poor. The tax will be imposed on sof...

The UK Chancellor announced today he is working on new plans to cut the tax bills of thousands of ‘self-starters’ who share their homes to pay the bills. Under the new plans, Airbnb hosts can earn £1,000 tax free additional income by sharing their homes, without having to declare it. The announcement was made as part of the annual budget statement today, along with similar plans to support regular people who make additional income selling through online marketplaces. Chancellor George Osborne said 700,000 UK residents, most of them on basic rate income tax, will benefit from the plans. Here’s what he said: …we’re going to help the new world of micro-entrepreneurs who sell services online or rent out their homes through the internet. Our tax system should be helping these people so I’m introducing two new tax-free allowances each worth £1,000 a year, for both trading and property income. There will be no forms to fill in, no tax to pay – it’s a tax break for the digital age...