Is HSBC’s chair hunt really over? December 4, 2025 Safe, but surprising – that was the verdict across the City as Britain’s biggest bank unveiled its new chair after a twist-and-turn search. Brendan Nelson will take the post at HSBC, succeeding Sir Mark Tucker, whose exit in September left the bank without a permanent chair for weeks. Except for Nelson. Indeed, the seasoned accountant [...]
Reeves isn’t ‘underestimated’, she’s doing a bad job and should resign December 1, 2025 Rachel Reeves has no mandate for taking money from taxpayers to hand to benefits claimants and her self-pitying defences are an insult to the people who are paying for her weakness, writes Alys Denby Rachel Reeves’ position has been untenable from the start. Her promises, during the election, that she would “end austerity” (increase public [...]
FTSE 100 Live: Starmer denies Budget ‘misleading’ as Reeves on brink December 1, 2025 Good morning and welcome back to the City AM liveblog. It was quite the Budget week to end November and for many more questions were created than answered. Whilst Labour might’ve hoped it would be be their rallying moment – with the lifting of the two-child benefit cap and doubling of the Chancellor’s fiscal buffer [...]
Banks keep up their end of Rachel Reeves’ tax bargain November 27, 2025 The banking industry has given Rachel Reeves some much-needed ammunition as she attempts to defend her tax-heavy Autumn Budget. After being spared from a highly-anticipated cash grab, a fleet of banks announced a fresh pump of capital in the UK economy. Britain’s largest retail bank Lloyds Banking Group unveiled £35bn of new finance for 2026 [...]
UK remains in ‘weak fiscal position’ after Budget November 27, 2025 The UK remains in a weak fiscal position after Wednesday’s Budget despite the Chancellor launching an historic fiscal consolidation in an attempt to shore up the public finances and avoid another tax raising budget, several top economists have warned. Rachel Reeves chose to hike taxes by £26bn via a vast combination of sector-specific levies, pension [...]
Reeves hands small businesses sour cocktail in Autumn Budget November 26, 2025 Small and mudiec-sized businesses (SMEs) now face a sour cocktail of higher taxes, rising costs, and tighter margins following Rachel Reeves’ second Budget as Chancellor. Dividend taxes are up, income tax and National Insurance thresholds remain frozen until 2030-31, and salary-sacrifice pension reliefs are being curtailed. For many small business owners, the Budget will feel [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves bets on AI – but did she play her strongest card last week? November 26, 2025 Rachel Reeves delivered what many had dubbed the “most anticipated Budget in years”, with industry eyes fixed on how she would position the UK in the global AI race. But just minutes before she even stood up at the despatch box, the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) unexpectedly leaked forecasts, fuelling speculation about the state [...]
Autumn Budget: Reeves targets job market with skills package November 26, 2025 Rachel Reeves has used today’s Autumn Budget to unveil a sweeping £1.5bn skills package aimed at tackling the UK’s entrenched labour shortages and sluggish productivity. The Chancellor said the country “cannot compete without investing in our people”, pitching the reforms as central to her long-term economic renewal plan. The measures represent the biggest shake-up of [...]
Autumn Budget: R&D and AI push faces delivery questions November 26, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ Autumn Budget set out one of the largest public investments in UK research and innovation in decades, with billions earmarked for R&D, AI, and the industrial strategy. UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) will receive £38.6bn, including £9bn for government priority sectors such as AI, quantum computing, and engineering biology. Meanwhile, £7bn is set [...]
Autumn Budget Live: Wealthy, landlords and pensions hit in £26bn tax raid November 26, 2025 Welcome back to the City AM liveblog. In a shocking turn of events the UK fiscal watchdog has accidentally released the economic forecasts – intended to be published after the Budget – before the Chancellor even took to the despatch box. Rachel Reeves has raised taxes by £26bn in her second Budget, which follows on [...]