Citi chief’s cowed Trump comments reveal corporate America’s tightrope Banking Citi has become a favourite of President Trump during his second term. Chief executive Dame Jane Fraser’s comments in London yesterday may show why, writes Charlie Conchie I sat across the table from Citi’s boss Dame Jane Fraser yesterday as she delivered a blistering warning to Andy Burnham and the new Labour government. For an [...]
IHT pension scramble shows ‘no sign of slowing down’, says Royal London boss Investing The mass scramble among UK pension savers to avoid being pulled into the inheritance tax net shows “no sign of slowing down”, as the policy shakeup creeps closer. From April 2027, pensions will be included in the scope of inheritance tax (IHT), meaning unused funds and death benefits will count towards the value of a [...]
Watch out, Burnham watches Looking for an insight into the kind of person Andy Burnham really is? You could do a lot worse than checking his wrist, says Andy Blackmore. If you think it’s been a long time since we had a hip PM, think no longer, for the new inhabitant of No10 wears his credentials on his wrist. [...]
UK founders cast doubt on Burnham’s pro-business push August 4, 2026 The majority of Britain’s top scale-up founders believe business conditions will not improve under Andy Burnham as just one in 20 entrepreneurs feel the new PM backs the private sector. New research by Helm, a membership group of over 400 scale-up founders, suggested that a substantial number of its members were pessimistic about Burnham’s premiership. [...]
Burnham urged to axe tourist tax expansion in devolution drive August 3, 2026 A leading hospitality trade body has urged Andy Burnham to drop plans to expand the so-called “tourist tax” across the country as part of his devolution drive. UK Hospitality (UKH) has written a letter to the Prime Minister, seen by Morning Wire, warning that the government’s overnight visitor levy would cost 33,000 jobs in the [...]
Healey announces early Budget July 31, 2026 John Healey has confirmed he will deliver his first Budget on 28 October as he pledged to “shift power and money out of Westminster”. The Chancellor said on Friday that his first fiscal statement would “back Britain’s communities” setting the stage for a Budget that economists have predicted will be the country’s third in a [...]
Burnham’s plea to City chiefs: let a young person shadow you at work July 30, 2026 Andy Burnham has called on City bosses to let young people shadow them at work as part of a push to tackle the problem of youth unemployment. Speaking to the Jimmy’s Jobs of the Future podcast, the prime minister said that there needs to be more work experience and apprenticeships for young people who don’t [...]
Andy Burnham pledges ‘cost £63bn’ – and tax ideas could backfire July 30, 2026 A series of tax cuts and spending pledges proposed by Andy Burnham and John Healey could cost the government up to £63bn by 2030, new analysis has shown. Promises on defence, social care and council housebuilding could leave the Chancellor facing a bill of between £46bn and £63bn by the end of the decade, which [...]
AI, drones and data: Defence giants splash record $4.1bn on tech start-ups July 27, 2026 Investment in defence tech start-ups has reached a record high this year as the world’s biggest arms companies step up spending on new military technology. New figures from Dealroom show defence contractors including BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Airbus have participated in $4.1bn (£3bn) of venture capital funding rounds so far this year, the highest [...]
Borrowing costs jump after Burnham ‘fiscal flexibility’ remarks July 20, 2026 The government’s borrowing costs climbed sharply on Monday afternoon after Andy Burnham said he planned to juice government borrowing by taking advantage of “flexibility” in the current fiscal rules. The new Prime Minister told reporters that his administration would use all potential room within the self-imposed spending straitjacket, which he had promised not to loosen [...]