Lloyds: FTSE 100 giant’s slow wealth progress sparks takeover talk October 7, 2025 Lloyds’ “slow” progress in wealth management has sparked talks of a potential takeover as the banking titan looks to beef up its offering for high net worth individuals. The FTSE 100 giant exited the area in 2013 as part of a simplification drive after the financial crisis, with the reduction of its stake in St [...]
Retail body warns against tax hikes amid ‘nightmare’ inflation September 30, 2025 Britain’s largest retail business group has warned the Treasury that further tax hikes on businesses will keep shop prices “higher for longer”, after data showed food inflation in September remained at its highest levels since the height of the cost-of-living crisis. British Retail Consortium (BRC) chief executive Helen Dickinson said even if the Chancellor chooses [...]
Norway’s record warship order sparks defence stock rally September 1, 2025 British defence stocks rallied across the board on Monday after Norway commissioned a record-breaking order of British-made warships and Babcock was handed an upgrade by a top stock broker. Shares in BAE Systems rose by nearly two per cent after the Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed the Nato member had placed an order for five [...]
Ofgem ups energy price cap August 27, 2025 The energy watchdog has announced that the energy price cap will be raised by a higher than expected two per cent between October and December. Ofgem’s decision is set to push the typical household’s energy spend up to £1,755 per year, despite a fall in wholesale energy prices. This comes following a price dip over [...]
JD Sports shareholders hoping for progress amid US consumer weakness August 24, 2025 JD Sports investors will be hopeful the retailer can show signs of progress next week after sales came under pressure at the start of the year. The impact of US tariffs and its overall performance in the US will be particularly in focus when it provides a half-year trading update on Wednesday 27 August. Shares [...]
Will Nvidia’s earnings justify its valuation August 22, 2025 Nvidia’s upcoming earnings report on 27 August will be a pivotal moment for a company that has become a proxy for the entire AI investment boom. While analysts are forecasting another quarter of exponential growth, the question remains whether the numbers can live up to a valuation has swelled to $4.4 trillion (£3.28 trillion), making [...]
Inheritance tax: Reeves could change thresholds and crack down on gift rules August 13, 2025 Rachel Reeves is exploring measures to extract more revenue from inheritance tax (IHT) ahead of the Autumn Budget, as she looks to plug a massive fiscal blackhole without breaking Labour election promises on tax. According to a report in The Guardian, the Treasury is looking into changes to thresholds as well as tightening the rules [...]
Interest rates likely to remain higher for longer August 8, 2025 Markets are indicating interest rates are set to stay higher for longer than expected after the Bank of England’s “hawkish cut” and gloomy inflation and growth forecasts shocked City analysts. Prior to the Bank’s interest rate cuts, markets had all but priced in a further 25 basis point cut by the end of the year, [...]
Shares in Cola-Cola’s European bottling arms slump despite strong results August 6, 2025 Coca-Cola’s European arm, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, and its bottling partner, Coca-Cola HBC, both slumped on the stock exchange this morning after the former downgraded its revenue guidance. The European business fell more than 11 per cent in early trades on the London Stock Exchange, while the bottling business dropped more than seven per cent. Coca-Cola [...]
FTSE 100 hits all-time high as trade deal hopes lift global markets July 23, 2025 The FTSE 100 closed at another all-time high on Wednesday on hopes the United States’ trade deal with Japan would spark a flurry of similar pacts between the Trump administration and America’s largest trading partners. London’s blue-chip index closed up 0.5 per cent to hit a record high of 9080 points, in the latest and [...]