Banks back in Reeves’ tax targets amid Budget whiplash November 18, 2025 Britain’s banking giants are back in the Budget crosshairs as Chancellor Rachel Reeves mulls a tax raid on lenders’ profits. Banks had been expected to be spared from a tax grab in the forthcoming Budget due to Reeves’ inclination to protect the financial services sector, following a concerted lobbying effort by top finance chiefs. But [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Miners sink blue-chip index; CMA crackdown November 18, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. We’re another day closer to the all-important Autumn Budget and the mood started on a sour note once more on Monday. The FTSE 100 struggled to slip out of the red ending the day on a loss of 0.24 per cent to 9,675.43p. Meanwhile, the [...]
Rachel Reeves’s caution could prove as damaging as Liz Truss’s recklessness November 18, 2025 Reeves is trying her best to avoid any comparisons to Truss's infamous mini-budget, but her excessive caution could prove just as damaging.
PE, mergers, and AI: Professional services faces its most pivotal moment for 20 years November 18, 2025 The professional services industry is arguably going through its most critical time in the last 20 years. As it sits on its train to the future, where it jumps off will seal its fate, as each move firms take will be critical to what the industry may look like in the next 10 years. While [...]
‘Shenanigans’: Did the OBR save Reeves from hiking income taxes at the Budget? November 18, 2025 For weeks, Chancellor Rachel Reeves had been engaged in an extraordinary communications exercise of expectation management, leading Brits to believe that income tax was about to hiked for the first time in 50 years. In an unusual press conference earlier this month, she told journalists that everyone would have to contribute to the Labour government’s [...]
Andy Haldane: Budget speculation is hitting growth November 17, 2025 Former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane has said there is “without a shadow of a doubt” a direct link between feverish Budget speculation and sluggish growth in the UK economy. In an interview on Sky News on Monday morning, the incoming president of the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) told Sophy Ridge that [...]
Nearly half UK fintech founders consider shifting business overseas November 17, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ mission to garner favour with the fintech industry has faltered with founders blasting the government’s approach to the sector as they weigh a move overseas. The Chancellor has attempted to ramp up the UK’s status as a competitive hub in the global fintech ecosystem, but founders have said they are yet to feel [...]
University tuition fee hike to prop up high inflation November 17, 2025 A rise in university tuition fees and volatile airfare prices are expected to prop up price growth as economists are pencilling in slightly lower inflation in October than in the previous month. Economists polled by Bloomberg said they expected consumer price index (CPI) inflation to reach 3.6 per cent in fresh data to be released [...]
Hotels and shops to be hit by fresh Reeves tax raid November 17, 2025 Hotels and supermarkets are set to be hit by extra taxes at the upcoming Budget as Chancellor Rachel Reeves hopes to raise more than £20bn in taxes. Reeves is planning to allow mayors to hit holidaymakers with an overnight levy on hotel and rental home stays at the Budget, opening up new cash streams for [...]
Tech tailwinds boost Polar Capital as AI bubble balloons November 17, 2025 Asset manager Polar Capital reported a surge in earnings after the firm’s “meaningful exposure” to tech stocks provided a hefty tailwind. The London-listed business recorded a 21 per cent jump in pre-tax profit to £27.9m, this was up from £23.1m just last year. Whilst outflows soared to £690m, including a significant £632m concentrated in the [...]