Vodafone chief shakes off Budget gloom as shares jump November 11, 2025 Vodafone’s chief executive has said the forthcoming Budget is “not a big thing for us” after the telco defied wider economic gloom to deliver a dividend hike. The FTSE 100 firm said it saw 1.2 per cent growth in the UK in the six months to the end of September, while Germany, a key market, [...]
Unemployment rate surges to 5 per cent November 11, 2025 The UK unemployment rate has surged to a post-pandemic high in further signs the jobs market has struggled to bounce back, amid interest rate cuts and adjustments to last year’s tax raid on employers. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the unemployment rate had hit 5 per cent as there were 32,000 fewer payrolled [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Vodafone shares lead blue-chip rally; Unemployment rises November 11, 2025 Good morning from the City AM liveblog team. What are you looking forward to more – Black Friday or Budget day? They are two vital days that UK retailers are bracing for in this month’s calendar, both of which can provide a major boost to firms – or crushing disappointment. Retail sales today show another [...]
Asda: KKR and TDR commit £23m to credit card firm Jaja after warning November 11, 2025 The private equity backers of Jaja Finance have contributed another £23m in equity funding after the Asda credit card firm warned on its ability to continue as a going concern, City AM can reveal. A group of existing shareholders participated in the funding in October, Jaja said, and have also vowed to commit a further [...]
Starmer’s approval ratings hit record low amid Reform and Green squeeze November 11, 2025 Keir Starmer’s approval ratings have hit a fresh low as voters brace for a battering at the Budget. The latest City AM/Freshwater Strategy poll of UK voters has shown that Keir Starmer’s net approval rating has cratered to -45, the lowest level since our monthly polling began in January this year. His Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, [...]
Retailers hit by subdued October as Budget threat looms November 11, 2025 UK retailers suffered a “subdued” October as Brits tightened their pockets ahead of what is expected to be a tax-heavy Autumn Budget. Retail sales increased 1.6 per cent year-on-year but remained below the 12-month average of 2.1 per cent, marking the weakest growth since May. The new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and [...]
KBRA Releases Research – Heating up European ABS: Heat Pump Finance and Securitisation November 10, 2025 In this research report, KBRA examines how capital-markets funding could help bridge Europe’s heat pump investment gap. The EU aims to expand installed heat pumps to around 60 million units by 2030, up from roughly 26 million today. The analysis highlights how securitisation can provide a scalable funding channel for residential heat pump installations when [...]
Altman Solon Selects Mindbreeze to Power Knowledge Management and Collaboration Across the Organization November 10, 2025 Mindbreeze, a leading global provider of AI-based knowledge management solutions, today announced that Altman Solon, the world’s largest strategy consulting firm focused exclusively on telecommunications, media, and technology (TMT), has purchased Mindbreeze InSpire. The collaboration began in July 2025 with a trial of the Mindbreeze Insight Workplace, designed to unify Altman Solon’s SharePoint and web-based [...]
Rachel Reeves concedes manifesto pledges may be dropped November 10, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has suggested that Labour manifesto commitments will be ditched amid a “significantly worse” economic inheritance than expected last year. In an interview with the BBC, Reeves said she would prefer to increase government spending on infrastructure rather than cut taxes for Britons. When asked whether the government would stick to manifesto commitments, [...]
Autumn Budget: How could Rachel Reeves change salary sacrifice rules? November 10, 2025 Salary sacrifice schemes have allowed Brits earning more than £100,000 to avoid high taxes since the 1970s. While a pay rise can be lucrative for some employees, for others being dragged over the £100,000 threshold can be financially damaging, particularly for parents of young children who risk having their free childcare hours pulled away and [...]