Businesses put brakes on investment before Budget October 28, 2025 UK businesses are putting investment and hiring plans on ice ahead of next month’s eagerly anticipated Budget, fearful the Chancellor will squeeze business to plug the UK’s fiscal shortfall for the second time in as many years. According to a fresh poll of small and medium-sized businesses, more than four in five (84 per cent) [...]
Lawyers to rethink personal tax structures as Reeves set to target LLPs October 28, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s proposed tax raid on LLPs may force partners to work longer or reconsider their retirement plans, with significant financial implications for many professionals. It was reported last week that Reeves is targeting limited liability partnerships (LLPs) in a tax raid as she tries to fill a fiscal black hole. The proposed 15 [...]
Paddy Power founder: Bookies ‘scaremongering’ over tax hike damage October 28, 2025 The betting sector is “scaremongering” over the potential damage of a tax raid on gambling, according to the retired co-founder of Paddy Power, who said he had led similar industry warnings of job losses and store closures before other mooted tax changes. Stewart Kenny, who served as chairman and chief executive at the Irish gambling [...]
Why are asset managers turning away from the US? October 28, 2025 Asset managers are increasingly choosing to diversify their portfolios away from US stocks, despite Wall Street’s pronounced rally, as fears over being overexposed to secular markets grows. US markets saw a significant bounce back in recent months, shaking off the lows that followed Trump’s tariff announcement in April, with investors not yet losing their appetite [...]
Wealthy Brits are failing to notice that they will be hit by IHT changes October 28, 2025 Many high net worth Brits are unaware that their pensions will soon be liable for inheritance tax, leaving families exposed to significantly higher levels of tax. Nearly 20 per cent of high net worth individuals (HNW) aged 55 and over reported having no knowledge that their unused private pension pot will fall under the scope [...]
Starmer: UK will not be pushed by China on embassy October 28, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has hit back at China’s Foreign Ministry as he said a decision on its embassy proposal at the Royal Mint Court site, located just beyond the Square Mile, would be taken in a “proper way regardless of any views or pressure from anyone”. In an interview with Bloomberg, the Prime Minister defended [...]
Rachel Reeves set for £20bn OBR productivity downgrade October 28, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ ballooning fiscal black hole is set to deepen as the fiscal watchdog hands the Chancellor its final productivity forecast on Friday. The Treasury is already battling to contain public finances after a U-turn on welfare reforms ruined hopes of £5bn in savings, and a £190bn spending splurge on government departments helped erode the Chancellor’s wafer-thin [...]
HSBC: FTSE 100 lender’s profit slumps as legal costs jump October 28, 2025 Europe’s biggest lender, HSBC reported better-than-expected revenue in the third quarter, but recorded a double digit decline in profit as it set aside over a billion dollars following a fresh ruling on the Bernie Madoff fraud scheme. HSBC’s pre-tax profit fell to $7.3bn (£5.4bn) in the three months to September 30, a fall of nearly [...]
Mining boss: Journey from Aim to main market ‘too difficult’ October 28, 2025 The mining boss behind the London main market’s newest member has said his firm would not have transferred from Aim had he known how complicated the process would be, despite the junior market partly existing to act as a stepping stone to London’s principal exchange. Cobus Loots, the chief executive of South African-based gold miner [...]
Fresh food inflation continues despite fall in overall shop prices October 28, 2025 The price of fresh food has continued to climb despite a broader softening in inflation at UK shops, according to new data. Fresh food inflation increased to 4.3 per cent year on year in October, against growth of 4.1 per cent in September and above the three-month average of 4.2 per cent, according to the [...]