FTSE 100 surges to new high ahead of Bank of England vote February 6, 2025 The FTSE 100 has ticked up to another new all-time high this morning, ahead of the Bank of England’s decision over whether to cut interest rates later today. The FTSE 100 opened 0.8 per cent up this morning at 8,695.24, pushing the index just above the record 8,692 it achieved last week. The FTSE 100 [...]
Is Reeves heading for a fiscal car crash? February 6, 2025 Rachel Reeves has a deep respect for officialdom and institutions and was aghast at the way Liz Truss simply ignored the Office for Budget Responsibility when putting together her doomed ‘mini Budget.’ Cast your mind back to the early days of the Truss administration (which, as it turned out, weren’t very far from the final [...]
Overhaul of planning barriers to nuclear power, Starmer announces February 6, 2025 An overhaul of planning barriers to make it easier to build new nuclear power plants has been announced by Keir Starmer. The move will create thousands of highly skilled jobs, the government said, as the Prime Minister confirmed red tape would be “slashed” in a bid to fast-track approval of reactors. It is set to [...]
To understand Labour’s challenge on investment, look to Saint Matthew February 6, 2025 Why are all the infrastructure projects the Chancellor wants to invest in in the South? James Nations says the answer can be found in Matthew’s Gospel: “for to everyone who has, more shall be given”… With the Chancellor wanting to move the conversation on from last year’s doom and gloom, she might be pleased to [...]
City minister takes aim at cash ISAs in call to back the stock market February 5, 2025 The City minister lamented the hundreds of billions of pounds stashed away in cash ISAs today as she called for Brits to invest more money in London’s ailing stock market. Speaking to the Lord financial regulation committee, Emma Reynolds, who took over the role of City minister last month, said the UK had “failed to [...]
UK economy: Services firms’ new orders fall for first time in over a year February 5, 2025 The survey showed that incoming work for services firms decreased in January, ending a 14-month period of continuous growth.
UK voters want ministers to prioritise growth over net zero, poll finds February 5, 2025 Voters in the UK say they want the government to prioritise economic growth over net zero, pollsters have found. Exclusive polling for Morning Wire by Freshwater Strategy found seven in ten people said they would rather the government prioritise economic growth over achieving net zero by 2050. It comes after pollsters yesterday revealed a majority [...]
Hospitality sector still reeling from Labour’s Budget February 5, 2025 The high drama of a global trade war competes for coverage with Keir Starmer’s EU reset, impending interest rate decisions and Nigel Farage’s lead in the opinion polls. News moves fast, and the spotlight moves on. For their part, politicians are always among the most eager to ‘draw a line under it’ and move on; [...]
Reeves’ gropes at growth decades in the future are not good enough February 5, 2025 The benefits of Rachel Reeves’ plans for new reservoirs and airports won’t be realised quickly enough. It exposes this government’s lack of coherence, credibility and, crucially, urgency, says Brandon Lewis Since coming into power, Labour has repeatedly attempted to position itself as the energetic party for economic growth, capable of shocking a lagging system to [...]
Reeves set to gather top investors at Downing Street in growth funding push February 4, 2025 Rachel Reeves will try to convince some of the UK’s biggest investment firms to take more risks with their cash tomorrow as she looks to unlock billions of pounds of funding for her growth plans, Morning Wire has learned. In a meeting at Number 11 Downing Street, the Chancellor is set to pitch her new [...]