Markets rise ahead of UK budget despite China services slowdown – business live
Article summary
UK-listed insurer group Hiscox has said it regretted “the uncertainty and anguish” suffered by customers who faced disputes when claiming business interruption insurance to cover losses suffered in the pandemic. Hiscox said it had begun paying claims and hired more claims handlers to speed up the process, with about one in three of its 34,000 UK business interruption polices paying out. […] The UK Services PMI Business Activity Index rose to 49.5 in February, up sharply from an eight-month low of 39.5 in January. […] The wider Composite PMI, which covers both factories and services companies, rose to 49.6 in February, up from 41.2 in January. […] As a reaction to the pandemic, VAT was slashed from 20% to 5% but that is due to come to an end later this month.
