Farming Today 03/03/25 - Solar farms on tenant farms, the wisdom of retired fishermen and supply chain fairness
Fishing is facing a shortage of workers – fewer people are coming from the European Union to work, and many older fishermen who retire aren't being replaced. At South Devon College they're hoping to attract new recruits to the industry - we go to event in collaboration with the charity the Fishermen's Mission, where the older generation of fishermen met those just starting out or considering a career at sea.
And we hear from the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator. Farmers have long had concerns about the way supply chains work, saying they shoulder too much of the risk, and don't reap enough of the rewards. To help, an Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator has been appointed - in the first instance to enforce new rules aimed at improving transparency and fairness in the dairy sector. Similar regulations to cover pigs are expected this spring and then the plan is to look at eggs and fresh produce.
Presented by Charlotte Smith
Produced by Heather Simons
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Times
4 hours ago
- Times
Tuition fee rise would be better than a stealth tax
Saddling a generation of young earners with a sharp tax by stealth is a cowardly political trick that harms universities too ALAMY B ritain's universities are an uneasy mix of contradictions. Many are operating near the brink of financial insolvency, despite the fact that, Luxembourg and America aside, UK universities bring in more money per student than anywhere. A number are among the world's most esteemed institutions; yet, there is a growing perception that the labour-market premium of even elite British undergraduate degrees has declined in recent years. In 2025 a record number of domestic 18-year-olds applied for places at college but despite this robust internal demand, higher education has become hooked on a supply of lucrative overseas students. In fact, so many universities are negligently allowing their degree courses to be used by foreign nationals as a back door into the UK asylum system that the government is now cracking down. Universities will be penalised if more than 5 per cent of their international students, many of whom take advantage of taxpayer-funded accommodation and loans, drop out of study having secured their student visa. That is an appropriate step but it will not fix the underlying financial precarity that makes universities desperate for foreign students in the first place. That is the fault of the ill-conceived student loan system, which seems no longer fit for purpose. It is an irony that when MPs voted in 2010 to increase tuition fees to £9,000, a key concern of the ensuing debate was that poorer students would be put off studying by the prospect of acquiring vast debts. In fact, the reverse happened. The number of young people pursuing higher education boomed. And the proportion of university-bound students from disadvantaged groups, for instance those eligible for free school meals, has risen robustly in parallel with their peer group. Still, although the present student loan system has thankfully not deterred poorer students from entering education, it has had other, less foreseeable, but clearly damaging effects. Chief among them is that the student loan system has become a graduate tax in all but name. While back in 2010, it was taken for granted that a large proportion of debt held by low-earning graduates would inevitably be forgiven by the state, changes to the repayment scheme effective from 2023 have fundamentally altered that model. Graduates in England now begin paying off their loans on any earnings over £25,000. The interest on these loans, calculated by reference to the unorthodox RPI measure of inflation, is eye-watering: it stood at 8 per cent in August 2024. The time-frame over which repayment takes place has also been extended, from 30 years to 40. The result is that the average student in England, who leaves university £53,000 in debt, faces a steep additional tax on most of their earnings over their working lives. Because of the steep interest rates, low earners are most likely to be shackled with repayments that never even make a dent in the debt's principal sum. These graduates will find it comparatively difficult to buy a house, become economically mobile, save into pensions and start families. Saddling a generation of young earners with a sharp tax by stealth is a cowardly political trick that harms universities too. Instead of trying to recover the true cost of education, there is a strong case that headline tuition fees should simply be allowed to rise. That they have been kept artificially low, at close to their 2010 level for over a decade, is one reason many universities now face financial ruin. As well as increasing internal competition and making the sector more dynamic, uncapping tuition fees would help to make students more immediately sensitive to the financial trade-offs involved in pursuing further education. At 18, students are young, their whole adult lives still ahead of them: all the more reason to inform them honestly of the costs and benefits of the first truly consequential financial choice they will make.
Reuters
5 hours ago
- Reuters
Korean equity surge risks stuttering without stronger reform push: Raychaudhuri
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The market corrected 4% in the last two trading days of the month after President Lee's government raised the peak corporate tax rate from 24% to 25% and the securities transaction tax from 0.15% to 0.20%. The announcement of a Korea-U.S. trade deal removed some uncertainties, but ambiguities about execution remain, and, overall, disappointment regarding the tax tweak overshadowed the trade truce relief. Korean equity performance in 2025 has been driven not just by political shifts but by several fundamental factors in a few large sectors. Financials, which constitute 13% of Korea's equity market, appreciated by 57% in the year through July 25, benefitting from investors' preference for high dividend yields and expectations of increased loan growth after a stream of rate cuts by the Bank of Korea. Meanwhile, industrials, representing 17% of Korea's market, have been lifted 54% over that period, thanks to the global defence and infrastructure spending boom. Technology, the country's largest sector at almost 30% of the market, has seen share prices rise by 45% in this time. The flagship technology stocks Samsung and SK Hynix are up 24% and 55%, respectively, as they continue to be propelled by AI optimism and the success of some specific new products, most notably Hynix's High Bandwidth Memory chip, an essential input to advanced AI servers and Nvidia's GPUs. Beyond these sector-specific catalysts, one of the most significant trends spurring investor enthusiasm for Korea this year has been the expectation of regulatory changes designed to protect minority shareholders. Korea's 'Value Up' program, initiated in February 2024 by the country's previous government led by former President Yoon Suk Yeol, began to tackle key issues plaguing Korean corporate governance, but many investors believe it did not go far enough. The unaddressed concerns include the prevalence of cross-holding structures that give founding families disproportionate control over companies and, relatedly, companies' reluctance to distribute excess cash to shareholders. Former President Yoon's declaration of martial law in December 2024 and his subsequent impeachment led to presidential elections in June 2025, and the formation of a seemingly stable government under President Lee Jae Myung. Soon after, on July 3, the National Assembly passed, opens new tab a corporate governance reform bill, which, among other things, requires company directors to act in the best interest of shareholders, limits large shareholders' voting rights when appointing audit committee members, mandates that hybrid virtual shareholder meetings must be held by publicly traded firms above a certain size, and raises the required proportion of independent directors on boards from one-quarter to one-third. Even before these measures were taken, corporate behaviour was already changing in anticipation of government pressure. Korean dividend payouts have been rising since 2022, and so have buybacks, according to FactSet. Indeed, buybacks in the first half of 2025 are higher than in all of 2024. These positive changes may have helped spur the rush of foreign capital flows into the country's equity market since April. Foreign institutions sold a net $28 billion of Korean equities from August 2024 to April 2025, and bought back a net $6 billion over the next three months. The currency has also been supportive of inflows. The Korean won has appreciated 7% against the U.S. dollar in 2025, second only to the Taiwanese dollar in the Asian leaderboard. Valuations remain attractive in Korea's market despite the sharp rally. Korean equities trade at a forward price-to-earnings multiple of 12.3x, far lower than its Asian peers that have similar earnings growth profiles. Of course, Korea's PE ratio is based on an 18% earnings growth forecast in 2026, the FactSet consensus expectation, and some investors may be sceptical about this figure. But such scepticism seems unjustified, as Korea's consensus EPS forecasts have been rising since March, a period marked by significant geopolitical and economic uncertainties that are, in many cases, now being resolved. Can the Korean rally regain its momentum? While the market's response to the U.S.-Korea trade deal may not have been overly positive, the outcome – a 15% tariff for many Korean goods versus the 25% rate feared – removes a massive risk, given that 15% of Korean companies' aggregate revenue comes directly from the U.S., according to FactSet. Investors, however, would be well-advised to keep an eye on the country's reform calendar, as several governance-enhancing reforms are still not finalized, most notably a tax amendment to incentivize higher dividend payouts. Moving forward, the fate of the Korean equity rally could depend, to a large extent, on what happens in government. (The views expressed here are those of Manishi Raychaudhuri, the founder and CEO of Emmer Capital Partners Ltd. and the former Head of Asia-Pacific Equity Research at BNP Paribas Securities). Enjoying this column? Check out Reuters Open Interest (ROI),, opens new tab your essential new source for global financial commentary. ROI delivers thought-provoking, data-driven analysis of everything from swap rates to soybeans. Markets are moving faster than ever. ROI,, opens new tab can help you keep up. Follow ROI on LinkedIn,, opens new tab and X., opens new tab
The Herald Scotland
15 hours ago
- The Herald Scotland
Scotch whisky: 'No sign' US tariffs will increase to 25%
The US President has so far agreed a 10% tariffs on UK exports and 15% on EU ones. Across the Scotch whisky sector, there are concerns that this deal - which is believed to be costing the industry £4m a week - will lead to significant harm for businesses. READ MORE: Scotch whisky hopes rise after Trump pledges to talk tariffs Trump talks of 'great love' for Scotland during visit 'Scotland must switch whisky exports from America to Canada' The Secretary of State is currently leading a UK Government delegation to Germany this week to 'increase economic ties' with the EU. Mr Murray said it was important to point out that trade deals with the likes of EU and India, the largest growing economy in the world, will provide a 'great opportunity' for Scotch whisky. Yet, earlier on the programme, Scotland's public finance minister Ivan McKee warned that 25% tariffs could be imposed next year as a deal previously reached with America on temporary duty reliefs could be lifted. Between October 2019 and March 2021, the tariff imposed as a result of the Boeing dispute resulted in £600 million in lost Scotch whisky exports. A deal was eventually reached in 2021 to take the 25% tariff off the industry. However, Mr McKee said: 'That was done on a temporary basis and that runs out next year so it's really important that it is taken out of the picture permanently because when that was in place, that was a significant hamper to Scotch whisky exports. 'As the UK Government concludes the deal with the US Government, we would expect it to be 10% tariffs on whisky which is clearly something we wish wasn't there.' Mr McKee said he would hope this was not re-imposed but added: 'There's nothing but unpredictability when it comes to Donald Trump and tariffs so who knows what's happening.' However, Mr Murray insisted it is unlikely this would happen. Asked how likely it would be for 25% tariffs to be re-imposed on Scotch whisky, Mr Murray said: 'There is no sign of that at the moment.' He added: 'It's 10% tariffs on Scottish whisky. Yes, we would rather that was as close to zero as possible but ten percent is as low as anybody else in the world right now." Mr Murray said the Prime Minister Keir Starmer has been able to 'reset international relationships' to do a deal with the US on tariffs. He said: 'Many, including the First Minister, wanted us to walk away from the US president but it was really important in the national interest and in the Scottish national interest for us to have that relationship to do that deal. '10% is the lowest tariff in the world. We did the first trade deal it saved the steel industry, the car industry. 'Yes, 10% tariffs on Scotch whisky is disappointing and we will continue to champion the cause for the really unique position of whisky. "We don't want it to be subject to historic trade wars as it has been in the past. It is a really thriving industry.' Speaking about the US president's visit to Scotland, Mr Murray said it was a 'great privilege' to when he landed in the country last week. He said he was in 'no doubt' of Mr Trump's 'great love of Scotland', adding: 'That is something we should exploit in the national interest.' During his visit to Scotland, President Trump promised to 'take a look' at tariffs on Scotch whisky during his meeting with Starmer as he said he wanted Scotland "to thrive". Since then, however, no changes have been made to the current arrangement. Speaking on the radio today, the Secretary of State also said Mr Trump suggested he should join him at the press conference beside Air Force One when he arrived in the country, however, the Secretary of State declined. Mr Murray said: 'He did tap me on the shoulder and said, 'let's go and do this press conference together' which I declined…because it's not for me to do so. 'I don't think it was for me to speak to the American press pack who is travelling on Air Force One with the President of the United States.'
