FTSE 100 Live: Budget and bubbles continue to set agenda November 17, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the Morning Wire liveblog. We are now just over a week out from the Labour government’s second Budget and last week rogue Westminster briefings sent ripples through markets. After continuous weeks and media outings teasing a manifesto-breaking income tax hike, the government rowed back with several reports pointing to [...]
Three Budget pleas from a tech entrepreneur November 17, 2025 With a few key measures, the government could could demonstrate that it's behind entrepreneurs this Budget, writes John Cotterell.
New PE-backed consultancy launches with aim to fix ‘broken” system November 17, 2025 A new, AI-native consultancy firm has launched to address what its founders call the “broken” model of traditional consultancies, which they argue is costing businesses billions for ineffective AI projects. Backed by $15m (£11.4m) in private equity funding from NY-based Siguler Guff, UK-headquartered Valliance launches its “radical new model” of charging based on value delivered, [...]
Business activity rebounds but Budget nerves could damage growth November 16, 2025 UK private sector activity marked its largest monthly rise of the year in October, but momentum could be shattered by increasing Budget speculation. According to the latest business trends report from accountancy firm BDO, which measures businesses turnover and economic activity, output rose to 97.49 past month, up from 96.25 in September. This marked the [...]
Treasury ‘buries’ farming report until after Budget in inheritance tax blow November 16, 2025 A government-commissioned review that shows the financial pressures on the farming industry has been “buried” by the Treasury until after the Autumn Budget, Whitehall sources claim. The review which was carried out by a former president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU), Baroness Batters, is understood to lay bare concerns among farmers over Chancellor Rachel [...]
Home Secretary: Illegal migration is causing “huge divides” November 16, 2025 Illegal migration is causing “huge divides” in the UK and must be brought under control to maintain consent for any form of asylum system, the Home Secretary has said. Shabana Mahmood said the Government needed to “deal with the pull factors that draw people in the first place” as she plans to announce a new [...]
Lord Turner’s crypto scepticism is painfully out of touch November 15, 2025 In an interview with Morning Wire, Lord Adair Turner compared buying crypto to buying tulips in 1635. Bepi Pezzulli writes a rebuttal.
Exclusive: Industry chiefs warn Reeves not to hit business after income tax U-turn November 14, 2025 The Chancellor must not rely on businesses to plug the gaping fiscal gap left by Thursday’s income tax U-turn, a group of industry body chiefs has warned a year after UK firms were forced to stomach much of the £40bn of tax hikes at Labour’s maiden Budget. In an unusual combined intervention, bosses from five [...]
Autumn Budget: What does the income tax U-turn mean for your salary? November 14, 2025 In a major U-turn, Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ is understood to have ripped up plans to hike income tax in the looming Autumn Budget. Reeves was poised to hitch up income tax by 2p at the end of the month, whilst cutting national insurance – for lower earners – by the same amount. While the decision [...]
Lloyds and Natwest shares fall in ‘perfect combination’ of fears November 14, 2025 Lloyds and Natwest shares were among the top fallers on the FTSE 100 index on Friday as a combination of fears weighed upon City stocks. The FTSE 350 bank index lost 2.17 per cent over the course of the day amid a widespread sell off across the blue-chip index. The FTSE 100 fell 1.1 per [...]