- Global billionaires are worth more than ever in history, reports UBS. Their collective worth hit $10.2 trillion this July. That’s a 27.5% surge since April for 2,189 fat cats, while billions of us suffer pandemic and depression. The previous record was $8.9 trillion in 2017.
- Supermarket giant Tesco plans to pay out £315 million to shareholders – after receiving £249 million in local tax breaks. The half-year dividend is 20% bigger than last year, and comes alongside £1.2 billion profits.
- Redundancies have soared to the highest level since 2009, during the Great Recession, reports the ONS. And unemployment hit 4.3% in the three months to August – a three-year high, up from 4.1% the quarter before.
- Youth unemployment could more than triple, hitting Thatcher levels by year’s end. That’s 17% of 18 to 29-year-olds – same as 1984 – reckons the Resolution Foundation.
- Three-fifths of households claiming in-work benefits have had to cut down on food and basic needs. Almost two-thirds receiving Universal Credit or working tax credit accrued more debt, says Save the Children.
- The poorest districts in England are almost four times as likely to face lockdown restrictions, according to Guardian analysis. Abysmal living and working conditions caused by poverty are to blame.
- 900,000 more children have applied for free school meals since the coronavirus crisis hit. They join 1.4 million who were already struggling to eat, finds the Food Foundation.
- Care homes in England are waiting a week or more to get Covid-19 test results, finds the FT. Delays make it impossible to effectively contain the virus.
- 23% of people suffering mental health issues have to wait three months or more for NHS treatment. Some don’t receive support for four years, says the Royal College of Psychiatrists.