UK economy ‘at risk of stagflation’ as growth stalls under Labour Economics Latest official GDP figures show the UK economy has stopped expanding since Labour took power, creating a headache for Keir Starmer after putting growth at the centre of his government’s mission. The economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1 per cent in October, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. It missed economists’ expectations [...]
Reeves promises ‘deeper, more mature’ economic relationship with EU Economics Rachel Reeves has pledged to build a “deeper, more mature relationship” with European trading partners in the first speech by a UK chancellor to eurozone finance ministers since 2020. Speaking to the Eurogroup in Brussels on Monday, Reeves also brushed off the suggestion that Britain must choose between closer ties with the US and EU [...]
Job vacancies collapse as Budget tax raid puts firms off hiring, survey shows Economics The latest report on jobs from KPMG and the REC showed an "accelerated decline" in the number of people placed in permanent roles by recruiters.
Ministers must act to slow London Stock Exchange investor ‘exodus’, says Peel Hunt chief December 2, 2024 Ministers must do more to stop the “exodus” of cash from the London Stock exchange after 41 consecutive months of outflows from UK equity funds, the boss of Peel Hunt has warned. In an interview with City AM, Steven Fine, who heads the AIM-listed broking house, said the speed of money leaving the market was [...]
Budget could wipe out 125,000 jobs in family businesses December 2, 2024 The government’s move to limit inheritance tax relief for family-owned businesses could cost Britain roughly 125,000 jobs and significantly reduce economic activity, new research has found. The change unveiled in Labour’s first Budget could reduce the value of goods and services produced across the UK economy by £9.4bn and incur a £1.3bn net loss for [...]
AJ Bell: Inheritance tax changes risk ‘fundamentally undermining’ pensions system November 24, 2024 AJ Bell's boss said the changes were “arguably the most complex and costly way of raising tax from unused pensions on death”.
Reeves has been ‘straight with the public’, No10 insists amid CV row November 18, 2024 Rachel Reeves has been “straight with the public” about Britain’s accounts and “restored financial stability”, No10 has insisted, amid claims the Chancellor exaggerated her CV. Reports emerged this weekend that Reeves had inflated the length of her service at the Bank of England in a Stylist interview in 2021. She told the magazine in 2021 [...]
Insolvencies set to rise as Budget hikes business costs, Begbies Traynor warns November 18, 2024 A combination of elevated interest rates and higher business costs resulting from the Budget is set to lead to a spike in insolvencies, Begbies Traynor has warned. In last month’s Budget, Chancellor Rachel Reeves increased the amount employers have to pay in NICs by 1.2 per cent, and lowered the wage threshold at which employers [...]
What the City of London wants from Reeves’s Mansion House speech November 12, 2024 Treasury officials have been hitting the phones to City firms over the past two weeks as Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver the government’s annual Mansion House speech to the financial services sector. The backdrop is a fractious one for the Chancellor. While the Labour party built cordial ties with the Square Mile in the run [...]
Bank of England cuts interest rates but warns Budget will stoke inflation November 7, 2024 The Bank of England's rate decision comes just a week after the Budget.