Budget costing jobs and pushing up inflation, survey suggests February 21, 2025 Excluding the pandemic, employment fell at the fastest pace since the global financial crisis, the survey suggested.
Pressure on Rachel Reeves grows as tax receipts disappoint February 21, 2025 Tax receipts rose at a slower pace than expected in January, new figures show, in a sign that the poor performance of the economy could have damaging fiscal consequences. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the government recorded a monthly surplus of £15.4bn, meaning it received more in taxes than it [...]
Rachel Reeves urges financial services to back emerging markets February 20, 2025 Rachel Reeves has met with top financial services firms to urge them to work with development institutions and within “emerging markets”. The Chancellor met with firms including Aviva, HSBC and Schroders in Canary Wharf today, as she called on industry leaders to seize on growth opportunities and shore up London as a leader in development [...]
Public service reform is pro-business, pensions minister argues February 20, 2025 Reforming Britain’s public services is a pro-growth and pro-business policy, the pensions minister has argued. Torsten Bell, who was appointed in the mini-reshuffle following City minister Tulip Siddiq’s departure from government, has said it’s not possible to have a “failing state and a growing economy”, in an interview with the Guardian. The former Resolution Foundation [...]
Lloyds shares jump despite profit slump February 20, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group’s shares jumped three per cent following market open, despite recording a profit hit after the firm set aside additional funds for potential motor finance payouts. The FTSE 100 lender’s pre-tax profit was down 20 per cent at £6bn, compared to £7.5bn in 2023. Analysts estimated the bank’s profit before tax at £6.5bn, [...]
UK equity markets could do with some shock therapy February 20, 2025 My favourite explanation as to why UK pension funds have shrunk their investments in UK equities from around 50 per cent in the 1990s to a paltry 3 per cent today was offered to me recently by one of the City’s veteran fund managers; “You can trace it all back to the day that crook [...]
Reeves told to improve investment incentives by industry bosses February 19, 2025 Rachel Reeves has been told by top global financial firms she needs to ease investment taxes, sources told Reuters. In a meeting with executives from JPMorgan, BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citi, Fidelity, Schroders and abrdn on Wednesday, Reeves was told to improve tax incentives for UK consumers. The latest summit in Reeves’ bid for [...]
Glencore: FTSE 100 miner mulls ditching London February 19, 2025 Glencore became the latest company to warn it could ditch its London listing today in a move that has been described as a “sucker punch” to UK markets. Speaking to the media after the miner’s results today, Glencore chief Gary Nagle said that questions had been raised over whether the UK was the right place [...]
UK businesses are struggling to implement AI. Here’s why February 19, 2025 It has been claimed that artificial intelligence (AI) could contribute £200bn to the UK economy. Yet, businesses are struggling with adoption due to a lack of expertise, high costs, and regulatory concerns. A survey by digital transformation company ANS and Yougov of over 1,000 IT decision-makers cited the UK’s skills gap as the leading barrier [...]
How will inflation impact Bank of England interest rate decisions February 19, 2025 The first inflation figures of the year confirmed what many had already known: Inflation will rise significantly in 2025.