Klarna boss: AI will lead to recession and mass job losses June 7, 2025 The introduction of AI at firms could lead to a recession due to mass job losses of professionals, Klarna’s chief executive has warned. The use of AI to make work more efficient has been encouraged by leading figures, including the government itself which said it could save civil servants two weeks a year. But fintech [...]
Rachel Reeves may have to ‘revisit’ manifesto tax pledges to meet fiscal rules, economists warn June 6, 2025 Rachel Reeves may have to tear up Labour’s manifesto tax commitments to meet her tight fiscal rules, economists have warned, as the Chancellor battles to balance the books amid calls for higher spending on defence and welfare. A suite of new day-to-day spending commitments made by the Treasury in recent weeks, including reversing cuts to [...]
ECB cuts interest rates as UK ‘hesitation’ risks dealmaking strength June 5, 2025 Interest rates in the eurozone have been cut, taking the deposit facility rate to two per cent as fresh data suggested inflation came in just under the European Central Bank (ECB)’s two per cent target rate in May. The cut means the ECB’s rate now stands at two per cent, a halving of rates set two [...]
ONS blames government figures after revealing April inflation error June 5, 2025 There was renewed scrutiny over the credibility of figures produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) after the government body admitted an error in its inflation calculations for April. According to the ONS, the issue arose after the government overstated the number of vehicles subject to the vehicle excise duty. The UK stats body [...]
Will the Bank of England’s quantitative tightening torpedo Reeves’ fiscal rules? June 5, 2025 Rachel Reeves is in a pickle. At under £10bn, the Chancellor’s self-imposed fiscal headroom – the Treasury’s wiggle room within its fiscal rules – is already wafer-thin by historic standards. And it is under intense strain, given a recent slew of billion-pound government spending pledges such as reversing winter fuel payments cuts and scrapping the [...]
End net zero levies raising energy bills, CBI boss to demand June 5, 2025 Net zero costs which push up energy prices and “anchor” businesses’ ambitions to grow must end, the boss of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) will tell government officials at an event in London on Thursday evening. Rain Newton-Smith, the chief executive of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), is set to urge the Treasury [...]
When is a trade deal not a trade deal? June 5, 2025 Do you remember where you were on TD Day, 2025? Do you remember what you were doing when you heard the news that a “truly historic” treaty had been signed between the UK and US? Trade Deal Day, 8 May 2025, was – for this government – a very big deal indeed. Keir Starmer will [...]
UK to miss out on tourism boom due to ‘layer upon layer’ of taxes June 4, 2025 UK tourism is at risk of suffering a decline as visitors are deciding against going to Britain due to the Treasury’s stringent tax policies, a key industry official has said, in the latest sign of the toll tax hikes are taking. Julia Simpson, the former British Airways chief who now heads up the World Travel [...]
UK finance salaries drop as workers ‘actively develop’ tech skills June 4, 2025 UK finance salaries dropped by three per cent in 2025, new data has found, prompting more workers to look for new jobs and develop more tech skills to prop up their pay. Average pay in one of the UK’s richest sectors is now around £102,300, lower than the USA but still higher than Germany and [...]
UK firms turn to AI and automation as they struggle to find skilled workers June 4, 2025 Nearly three-quarters of British firms are struggling to find talented workers in fears that productivity levels are unlikely to rebound after a bumpy recovery from the pandemic, fresh research has found. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has called on firms to prioritise hiring British workers over sponsoring foreign nationals as part of his plans to boost [...]