Yahoo Finance Wednesday morning news briefing: Take a Chancellor on me
If you want to receive twice-daily briefings like this by email, sign up to the Front Page newsletter here. For two-minute audio updates, try The Briefing - on podcasts, smart speakers and WhatsApp.
Mini-budget: How Chancellor will kickstart economy
It is his plan to pull Britain out of the deepest recession in generations. The Chancellor will today unveil a multi-billion pound package to revive the economy and create thousands of jobs. Home buyers will be offered an emergency stamp duty holiday, with Rishi Sunak expected to exempt the first £500,000 of any property, as the centrepiece of the Government's coronavirus recovery proposals. Mr Sunak will also use his mini-budget to unveil a £2billion scheme to get hundreds of thousands of people aged 16 to 24 into work by directly paying their wages for six months. Political Editor Gordon Rayner explains how the Chancellor will fill in the details missing from Boris Johnson's "New Deal" speech last week with a statement titled "A Plan for Jobs". Mr Sunak is due to address the Commons from about 12.30pm. Follow all the updates and analysis in our liveblog. It comes as Mr Sunak dropped controversial plans to force workers to pay for coronavirus tests organised by their employers through their tax returns.
Mr Sunak has only been in his job since February, but has already authorised some of the biggest increases in spending by a Chancellor in recent history. We have a round-up of all the announcements he is expected to make in his economic statement today. But with Mr Sunak already being touted as a future Prime Minister, could the economic fallout from the crisis take the shine off his status as a rising star? Matt finds humour in the Chancellor's spending spree with today's cartoon.
Care homes investigated over Covid-19 safety fears
Dozens of care homes have been urgently investigated over "serious concerns" that staff and residents were left dangerously exposed to coronavirus, The Telegraph can disclose. Urgent inspections were carried out by the Care Quality Commission during lockdown on around 50 homes where managers allegedly failed to follow safety procedures. As Bill Gardner reports, providers now face scores of compensation claims from families who blame negligence for the deaths of their loved ones. It comes after Boris Johnson provoked a major backlash when he suggested "too many" care homes did not properly follow procedures.
Palace staff face job cuts as Queen avoids London
Buckingham Palace staff are facing the spectre of job cuts amid speculation the Queen will not come back to London following her summer holiday in Balmoral. As well as seeking voluntary redundancies from the Royal Collection Trust - which has lost £64 million in income as a result of the pandemic - pay is being frozen for all employees while a consultation is launched into the pension scheme. Associate Editor Camilla Tominey has seen an internal memo that lays bare the full implications of the coronavirus crisis for palace staff.
At a glance: More coronavirus headlines
Inflammation | Brain damage 'epidemic' linked to coronavirus
Surge | US reaches grim milestone of three million infections
Also in the news: Today's other headlines
Cheating claims | The White House has been forced to deny allegations by Donald Trump's niece in an upcoming book that the US president cheated on exams that helped him win a place at university. Mary Trump claims that her uncle paid someone to take his tests for him so he could get into Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania in the mid-Sixties. Josie Ensor has more on the book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man.
Johnny Depp | Finger severed by Amber Heard, court hears
Duke of York | 'Torn over whether to speak out on Maxwell'
Energy role | China's nuclear stake in UK under scrutiny
Madonna | Real reason she has the body of a 30-year-old at 61
Around the world: Angry brides in Rome
Women in wedding dresses in front of Rome's Trevi fountain stage a flash protest against Italy's continued restrictions on marriage ceremonies due to the pandemic. View a gallery of more striking images of how lockdown is gradually being lifted around the world.
Comment and analysis
Philip Johnston | 'Build back better' is a socialist trap for Boris
Con Coughlin | China's aggressive tactics on Huawei will backfire
Allison Pearson | Why I did not clap for the NHS on Sunday
Michael Deacon | A dazzling masterclass in political spin
Reader letters | PM should avoid care homes war of words
Editor's choice: Features and arts
And a mask to match | Why a co-ordinated face covering is the perfect finishing touch
Under attack | 'Being shamed as a 'Karen' has made me change my name'
Ineos Grenadier | Five 'proper' off-roader alternatives to the rugged new 4x4
Business and money briefing
Rising pressure | DHL will axe 2,200 staff working on a contract for Jaguar Land Rover, highlighting intense pressures on the car sector and raising fears of more redundancies at Britain's biggest car maker. The logistics company has told its staff that 40pc of them working at JLR factories and delivering parts to car plants are likely to lose their jobs.
Unemployment | Jobless rate could reach 15pc if cases surge
Investment tip | 'Quality' firm whose shares are unfairly punished
Alex cartoon | See our cartoonist's latest work on world of finance
Sport briefing
Cricket | England and the West Indies will both take the knee for 30 seconds before the start of the first Test today in a show of support with the Black Lives Matter movement. Chief Cricket Correspondent Nick Hoult writes that we should get ready for a series like no other.
Crystal Palace 2 Chelsea 3 | Victory despite late siege
Arsenal 1 Leicester City 1 | Fightback to hold on for draw
Liverpool | Jurgen Klopp defends quality of back-up players
And finally... for this morning's downtime
TikTok under threat | From becoming the must-have social media app to being derided as potential spyware, TikTok has had a tumultuous 2020. Its popularity in Western countries may be under threat after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he was "looking at" banning Chinese social media apps in America. Technology Correspondent Michael Cogley explains how TikTok has found itself the subject of such intense scrutiny from American politicians.
