Andy Haldane: Reeves ‘not even close’ on growth after ‘rookie errors’ June 2, 2025 The Bank of England’s former Chief Economist has slammed Rachel Reeves’ first near-full year as Chancellor as “disappointing”, with the government “not even close to doing enough” on growth. Less than two weeks out from the 11 June spending review, Andy Haldane told LBC’s Nick Ferrari that there have been “mistakes, rookie errors” that have [...]
Monzo: Fintech unicorn tops £1bn in revenue on road to landmark IPO June 2, 2025 UK fintech giant Monzo reported its second consecutive year of profitability on Monday after the neobank’s revenue climbed above £1bn for the first time. The firm’s revenue increased 48 per cent to £1.2bn as it reported huge expansion across business arms amid rising expectations for a London flotation in the coming months. Customer deposits jumped [...]
Reeves inheritance tax raid to cost ‘staggering’ 200,000 jobs June 1, 2025 More than 200,000 jobs could be at risk over the next five years thanks to the government’s inheritance tax raid, new research suggests. Chancellor Rachel Reeves introduced sweeping changes to business and agricultural property relief in the Autumn Budget last year, impacting family-owned business and farms across the UK. A study from CBI Economics, commissioned [...]
Reeves’ spending review ‘natural point’ to boost defence -IFS June 1, 2025 The Chancellor’s upcoming spending review provides a “natural point” to put the UK on the path to further boost defence spending, an economic think tank has said. Defence and NHS spending will dominate the review, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said in an analysis. It said Rachel Reeves will face “unavoidably” tough choices on 11 [...]
UK fintech: Can Britain’s booming sector conquer Europe and the US? June 1, 2025 UK fintechs have transformed the British banking landscape – and firms are fixing their eyes on international endeavours. Top names ballooned profits and customers bases over the last year whilst picking up a fleet of accolades. London-based Allica Bank was dubbed the UK’s fastest growing private company by The Times Hundred and Europe’s fastest growing start-up by Sifted. [...]
Spending review: Government poised to boost NHS and defence sector June 1, 2025 The government’s spending review is likely to focus on the UK’s health and defence sectors, a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggests. The spending review, which will be published on 11 June, will allocate departmental funding and budgets for the next three to four years. It has been the subject of speculation [...]
Government plan to build munitions factories to ‘better deter our adversaries’ May 31, 2025 Building at least six munitions and energetics factories will “better deter our adversaries”, defence secretary John Healey has said as part of plans for an “always on” weapons pipeline. The Government has pledged £1.5bn as part of the strategic defence review (SDR) to set up at least six factories, and will support the procurement of [...]
Natwest returns to private ownership May 30, 2025 Natwest has finally re-entered private ownership ending one of British banking’s longest-running sagas. The government sold off its remaining 0.26 per cent stake in the group on Friday marking a full exit from the lender. The Treasury’s share of the FTSE 100 lender dates back to the 2008 financial crisis. Natwest, then under the Royal [...]
Bank of England rate-setter calls for interest rate cut May 30, 2025 A top Bank of England rate-setter has dismissed the latest spike in inflation and doubled down on calls for further interest rate cuts. Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) member Alan Taylor said the fresh inflation surge was driven by “one-off factors” related to President Donald Trump’s trade war. Whilst he said recent trade progress, with the [...]
UK business confidence bounces back from Trump’s tariff blow May 30, 2025 UK business confidence rallied in May as global financial markets made their recovery from President Donald Trump’s tariff onslaught. Lloyds Bank business barometer jumped 11 points over the last month to 50 per cent. – marking a nine month high. The lender surveys 1,200 companies and weighs up the percentage of firms that have a [...]