Don’t like the OBR? Then stop borrowing so much December 4, 2025 The left and the right have found a common enemy in the OBR, but if governments don’t like having their headroom wiped out by forecasts they should try running a surplus, says Tom Harwood Voices on the left and the right have found an unlikely common enemy in recent weeks: the much maligned Office for [...]
Revolut ramps up business offering in Visa tie-up December 4, 2025 Revolut is set to scale up its offering to UK businesses in a fresh tie-up with payments juggernaut Visa. The fintech’s business to business arm – dubbed Revolut Business – is set to introduce Titan, a premium business card, early next year as it pushes forward in its mission to create the ultimate all-in-one app. [...]
Paragon Banking chief eyes acquisitions after capital boost December 3, 2025 The boss of Paragon Banking Group has acquisitions in mind after the lender received a major tailwind from regulatory reforms this year. Nigel Terrington has said the loosening of banks’ capital requirement rules, known as MREL (minimum requirement for own funds and eligible liabilities), will open up further growth prospects for mid-cap lenders. The boss [...]
Smiths Group strikes deal to offload detection business for £2bn December 3, 2025 London listed Smiths Group is set to offload another of its businesses, as it works to streamline its operations after bowing to increasing investor pressure. The FTSE 100 company has agreed to sell its Smiths Detection division to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners in a £2bn deal. The business manufactures threat detection technology, including [...]
Businesses shed staff at ‘fastest rate since February’ December 3, 2025 Businesses laid off staff at the fastest rate in nine months as growth in the UK economy suffered a “renewed slowdown”, new data has indicated. S&P Global’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for November suggested growth marginally changed over the month, with researchers pointing the finger at pre-Budget speculation keeping bosses on edge. The composite PMI [...]
Powervault: London Mayor-backed Tesla battery rival collapses December 3, 2025 Battery storage firm Powervault, which had been tipped to become the UK rival to Tesla, has collapsed into administration, Morning Wire can reveal. The London-based company, which had been backed by the Mayor of London’s Greater London Investment Fund as well as the British Business Bank, has appointed administrators Menzies to oversee its wind-down, according [...]
FCA chief ducks committing to investigating Treasury briefings December 3, 2025 The boss of the City watchdog appeared to skirt committing to investigating Treasury briefings when pressed on the Labour government’s “possible market abuse” on Wednesday morning. Nikhil Rathi, chief executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, has been lobbied by the Conservatives and other opponents to the Labour government to look into the rogue briefings on [...]
The 68p lawsuit that threatened to upend the British bond market December 3, 2025 In 2023, the Financial Conduct Authority set out to modernise the bond market. A noble ambition. But as many seasoned City execs will tell you, noble ambitions from regulators don’t always work out how they were intended. The FCA proposed to introduce what’s known in industry jargon as a consolidated tape – a system which [...]
HSBC taps KPMG veteran Brendan Nelson to chair banking giant December 3, 2025 Europe’s biggest lender, HSBC, has named a new chair following its tumultuous recruitment programme after the departure of Sir Mark Tucker. HSBC tapped KPMG veteran Brendan Nelson, who has also served on the boards of BP and Royal Bank of Scotland, as its new chair. Nelson joined the banking giant’s board in 2023 and has served [...]
FTSE 100 Live: HSBC names new chair; Bloomsbury and Google tie-up December 3, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. Are we on the verge of another financial crisis? It’s quite the eerie question but it was one of many posed to the Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey following the latest financial stability report on Tuesday. The head of the central Bank [...]