Barclays shares jump as investment arm cashes in on market storm April 30, 2025 Barclays enjoyed a bumper first three months of 2025 as its investment and private banking arms cashed in on market volatility. The bank’s share rose over 1.5 per cent during early trading on Wednesday. The FTSE 100 giant’s investment bank bolstered income by 16 per cent to £3.9bn, compared to £3.3bn from the same period [...]
Rate setter calls for market digitalisation and touts Bank of England’s flexibility April 29, 2025 Bank of England rate setter Dave Ramsden has called for bold action on digitalisation in a rebuke of concerns that the Bank’s prescriptive rules were stifling innovation. Speaking at the Innovate Finance Global Summit on Tuesday, the central bank Deputy Governor said widespread innovation in wholesale financial markets from authorities and industry would boost the [...]
Recruitment firms shutting at fastest rate since financial crash April 24, 2025 Recruitment agencies are shutting for business at their fastest rate in fifteen years as companies tear up hiring plans amid rising taxes and global economic uncertainty. As many as 120 recruitment businesses have appointed liquidators in the past six months, a City AM analysis of insolvency disclosures has found, a jump of 17 per cent [...]
Dire economy needs lifesaving surgery, before it’s too late April 24, 2025 When Rachel Reeves became Chancellor last summer, the biggest issue facing her was the existence (disputed by the Tories) of a £22bn black hole in the public finances. The political pain of cutting the winter fuel allowance was deemed necessary to balance the books and give the new government a clean sheet of paper on [...]
FTSE 100 down after US stocks slump April 21, 2025 The FTSE 100 opened seven points down on Tuesday morning, following a major US market slump on Bank Holiday Monday. US stock markets took another hit on Monday, with the S&P 500 closing down 2.38 per cent – at 5,158 – while the Nasdaq fell 2.5 per cent and and Dow Jones slumped 2.48 per [...]
Finance bosses bet on London amid US market jitters April 21, 2025 Financial services leaders have banked on London’s growth potential, according to a fresh survey from KPMG, as sentiment sours over the prospects for US financial markets. Over half of the UK’s finance bosses believed the negativity of London’s health as a financial hub was overplayed. KPMG’s latest UK Financial Services Sentiment Survey, which quizzes over [...]
Reynolds fails to confirm British Steel will get raw materials required April 13, 2025 The business secretary has declined to guarantee that British Steel will be able to secure enough raw materials in time to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces going. Jonathan Reynolds said he would not “make my situation or the nation’s situation more difficult” by commenting on specific commercial details, the day after taking emergency powers to [...]
If you think this government is pro-business, let me sell you Tower Bridge April 9, 2025 As the government continues to develop its response to Trump’s tariffs and the changing global economic order, the Prime Minister’s muddled thinking is troubling me. We now know that he wants to simultaneously “unleash” British business whilst “sheltering it from the storm,” like a parent who implores his child to “run, but not yet, and [...]
Saudi Arabia aiming for £17bn sports sector valuation by 2030 April 8, 2025 The world’s newest major sports player Saudi Arabia aims to have a sports sector worth $21bn (£16.5bn) by 2030. It comes as the Gulf state confirmed the sector was currently worth $8.5bn (£6.7bn) in 2025 having been worth just $1.3bn (£1bn) in 2016. The entirety of the UK’s sports sector contributes around £100bn to the [...]
FTSE and Europe in the red as US markets open on a downturn March 31, 2025 The latest escalation in Trump’s trade war painted global markets red on Monday. This new headache came ahead of Trump’s so-called ‘Liberation Day’ on April 2, which has investors bracing for a broad set of fresh tariffs. The President will slap 25 per cent tariffs on all automotive imports in the US from Wednesday, with [...]