Consumer confidence drops ahead of Budget September 19, 2025 Brits’ confidence has fallen as nerves grow over the possibility tax rises in the upcoming November Budget. GfK’s Consumer Confidence Index decreased by two points to -19 in September, with all measures down in comparison to last month. “There’s an autumnal chill in the air this month,” Neil Bellamy said. “With tax rises expected in [...]
Housing market ‘demonstrating remarkable resilience’ ahead of Autumn Budget September 17, 2025 House prices ticked up in July as Brits still showed a ‘good appetite’ for home ownership despite affordability challenges and uncertainty ahead of the Autumn Budget. Average house prices increased 2.7 per cent to £292,000 in England, two per cent to £209,000 in Wales, and 3.3 per cent to £192,000 in Scotland in the 12 [...]
City AM Shadow MPC votes 8-1 to HOLD interest rates September 16, 2025 Leading economists from academia and the City have voted 8-1 for interest rates to be held at four per cent in City AM’s Shadow Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) ahead of the Bank of England’s own decision this week. Top analysts, who expressed views independently of their organisations, have said that stubborn inflation above the Bank [...]
Investec raises growth forecast and backs November interest rate cut August 29, 2025 Global banking firm Investec has lifted its growth projections for the UK economy with another interest rate cut pencilled in for 2025. The financial services company expects the UK economy to grow 1.5 per cent this year and 1.6 per cent in 2026. This trumps the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecast, which expects the [...]
Rachel Reeves told ‘copy Margaret Thatcher’ with bank tax raid August 29, 2025 Britain’s banking titans are back in the hot seat as Rachel Reeves faces renewed calls to hike taxes on lenders. The self-described “iron Chancellor” has been advised to take a leaf out of Margaret Thatcher’s book with a fresh levy on banks that would hand the Treasury up to £8bn a year. The levy – [...]
Bank of England’s Mann: ‘Squeeze out’ inflation with rate holds August 26, 2025 Inflation is likely to become “persistently elevated” unless it is squeezed out with a more restrictive monetary policy than the Bank of England is currently predicting, a top Bank of England official has warned. In a hawkish speech delivered on Tuesday, Monetary Policy Committee member Catherine Mann said the spectre of further price rises looked [...]
Lloyds to hand shareholders over £17bn by 2027, analysts say August 26, 2025 Lloyds Banking Group shareholders are set for a bumper payout with analysts projecting the lender will return over £17bn to investors by 2027. The FTSE 100 giant was listed as Jefferies analysts “preferred” banking stock following a strong year-to-date performance. Shares in Lloyds have jumped over 50 per cent since January. The bank received a [...]
OSB’s profit plunges due to falling interest rates August 20, 2025 OneSavings Bank (OSB) recorded a hefty hit to profit for the first half of 2025 as lower interest rates took a chunk out of the group’s bottom line. The London-listed firm posted a 20 per cent decline in profit before tax, which fell to £192.3m in the first half. Net interest income (NII) fell five [...]
Monzo to follow Revolut and Klarna with launch of mobile service August 19, 2025 Monzo has become the latest fintech darling to expand its lifestyle reach with the firm exploring the development of mobile phone services. The London-based firm is looking to offer a Monzo-branded service to its over 12 million in account holders. The service would follow rival Revolut issuing plans in April to enter the mobile market [...]
Persimmon: Profit jumps as construction activity rises August 13, 2025 Persimmon has reported a double-digit rise in operating profit on increased construction volumes, despite ongoing affordability pressures. The housebuilder told markets this morning that private completions rose seven per cent to 3,987 homes, while total completions rose four per cent to 4,605. It is on track for completions of 11,000-11,500 homes for the full year. [...]