FTSE 100 seals record high after shaking off investor nerves June 12, 2025 The FTSE 100 finally sealed a new record closing high on Thursday after falling a whisker short the previous two trading sessions. The UK’s flagship index rose 0.2 per cent to – besting March’s record of 8,871.31. The index also beat its previous intraday high after hitting 8,892.36 in afternoon trading. Endeavour mining topped the [...]
UK trade with US falls apart after Trump tariff blitz June 12, 2025 Exports to the US – the country the UK trades with the most with – saw its largest monthly decrease in April since records began, official data has shown. The onset of President Trump’s trade war with some of his closest allies and foes put governments on standby as major forecasters warned the world economy [...]
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang: ‘Praise and promise are useless’ without UK AI infrastructure June 12, 2025 “Praise and promise are completely useless” without AI infrastructure, Nvidia’s chief executive, Jensen Huang, told City AM when asked about the effusive comments he made on Britain’s AI capabilities just a couple of days prior. At London Tech Week on Monday, the tech heavyweight dubbed ‘AI godfather’ lauded the UK’s AI talent, but flagged a critical lack [...]
UK economy shrinks more than expected in blow to Reeves June 12, 2025 The UK economy shrank more than expected in April, official data has shown, suggesting momentum built up in the beginning of this year has already worn away. New figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showing a 0.3 per cent contraction come off the back of a strong 0.7 per cent growth in [...]
Reeves’ spending spree could open £20bn gap – which taxes will rise? June 12, 2025 Rachel Reeves splashed the taxpayer cash in her inaugural Spending Review, raising expectations the Chancellor may be coming back for more tax revenue in the Autumn if her growth ambitions are not met. Reeves is set to hand out an extra £190bn in government spending over the course of the parliament, in what she described [...]
Reform and Tories aligned on Spending Review criticism June 11, 2025 Reform UK has described government spending plans as being “completely out of control” after Rachel Reeves unveiled a package of measures that would increase spending by nearly £200bn over the course of the parliament. Responding to the Chancellor’s Spending Review, Reform Deputy Richard Tice said: “inflation is up, unemployment is up, government borrowing is up, [...]
Spending Review: Reeves leaves London short-changed June 11, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ inaugural Spending Review fell short for London, the capital’s business advocacy group has said. Reeves’ announcements on infrastructure, transport and skills were received warmly but BusinessLDN has said the Chancellor had failed to fully deliver, leaving the capital “short-changed”. The Spending Review included a four-year settlement for Transport for London with the [...]
Spending Review: Reeves piles billions into tech as firms cool on UK June 11, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves bet heavy on tech and innovation in her maiden Spending Review, in a week that saw a trio of tech firms depart from the London Stock Exchange. Reeves hiked research and development funding to a record high of £22.6bn per year by the end of the Spending Review period. She doubled down [...]
William Hill shortens odds on Pat McFadden replacing Rachel Reeves June 11, 2025 William Hill has slashed its odds on senior government minister Pat McFadden replacing Rachel Reeves as Chancellor – down from 5/1 to 2/1. McFadden is currently Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – the most senior minister in the Cabinet Office – and is a close confidante of PM Sir Keir Starmer, playing a major [...]
Reeves will aim for optimism but reality paints a different picture June 11, 2025 Sky’s Sophy Ridge is a thoughtful and formidable interviewer, as Treasury Minister James Murray discovered on Monday evening. The Labour MP, who seems a decent sort of chap, was doing his best to defend his government’s screeching and humiliating u-turn on cuts to winter fuel payments, claiming – in the words of the Prime Minister [...]