Global markets take a tumble as Trump pushes on with his trade war August 1, 2025 Global stocks weakened on Friday morning after US President Donald Trump hit multiple countries with a blitz of tariffs. Trump’s ambition to restructure the global trading order in his administration’s favour has sent jitters through markets on his set negotiation deadline day. The FTSE 100 is down 0.7 per cent, with UK drug maker Astrazeneca [...]
Business confidence hits ‘record low’ as Reeves slammed over taxes August 1, 2025 Business directors’ confidence in the UK economy has plunged to an all-time low, with firms unconvinced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ growth-focussed policies as the impact of last year’s tax hikes continues to play out. Keir Starmer has repeatedly told MPs business confidence is at a nine-year high, pointing to a single business survey put together [...]
Week in Business: Is it time to leave the country? July 31, 2025 Facing low growth and high taxes, more and more of my friends are having the same conversation, for the same reasons.
Investors put off by complicated wealth management tools July 31, 2025 Half of people who want help investing, feel “dissatisfied” with traditional wealth management tools, believing them to be too expensive or complex, a new survey has found. Two thirds of UK investors believe not enough people invest due to being unable to use complicated wealth management tools, according to research from wealth management platform Stratiphy. [...]
Rachel Reeves could use bank windfall tax to plug Labour’s U-turns July 31, 2025 Rachel Reeves could launch a fresh tax grab on banks to plug the spending holes left by Labour’s recent U-turns, new analysis has found. The Chancellor is poised to hike taxes in the Autumn Budget after a series of government policy switches eroded her already wafer-thin fiscal headroom of £9.9bn. This comes as fresh research [...]
Schroders bounces back after weak performance July 31, 2025 Asset manager Schroders has rallied from a poor first quarter caused by tariff turmoil, through strategic investment in line with its three year transformation plan. Assets under management (AUM) remained stable at £776.6bn, down slightly from £778.7bn recorded the previous year, as improved performance and investment of £24bn was offset by foreign exchange movements due [...]
Firms face fresh fines for making late payments to small businesses July 31, 2025 Firms could be slapped with million-pound fines for late payments to small businesses in a new government effort to boost growth in local economies. As part of reforms aimed at supporting businesses with fewer than 50 employees, Keir Starmer has vowed to crack down on delayed payments “holding Britain back”. The Prime Minister said the [...]
Banks back in crosshairs as Labour eyes tax hikes July 31, 2025 George Osborne’s likely payday from the sale of Robey Warshaw to US giant Evercore won’t be the first time he’s extracted money from the banking sector. In his inaugural 2010 Budget he announced a UK bank levy of 0.05 per cent on certain bank liabilities. Conceived in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the [...]
Trump slaps 25 per cent tariffs on India over ties with Russia July 30, 2025 President Donald Trump has vowed to slap India with 25 per cent tariffs on imports from India, with an extra unspecified “penalty” to be introduced, in an attack on its trade with Russia and “obnoxious” rules and standards. Ahead of a Friday deadline for “reciprocal” tariffs, Trump revealed Indian exports would be subjected to higher [...]
Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget still causing negativity – CBI July 30, 2025 A streak of negative business sentiment has now lasted 10 months, a leading industry body has suggested, in further evidence that employers have struggled to turn a page on Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £40bn tax raid at last year’s Autumn Budget. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has repeatedly told MPs that business confidence was edging higher, [...]