Firms scramble to ‘protect bottom line’ amid low growth April 16, 2025 Firms across the UK are putting in “hard work” to limit cost pressures and maintain profits amid low growth, one of the country’s biggest banks has said. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’s aggressive tax hikes at her last Autumn Budget have piled higher employment costs on businesses large and small, threatening to kill off some companies by [...]
Inflation expected to ease slightly in March amid uncertain future April 15, 2025 Inflation in the month to March is expected to remain well above the Bank of England’s target rate of two per cent, putting policymakers in an awkward position ahead of a potential interest rate cut in May. A Bloomberg poll of economists said that consumer price inflation (CPI) on a year-on-year basis will hit 2.7 [...]
Tax return: Keir Starmer paid more than £54,000 last year April 15, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has paid more than £54,000 in tax from 2023-2024, it has been revealed, as book royalties and interest on savings pushed the PM’s income into the top tax bracket. The Prime Minister, who published his tax return for the first time since Labour took power, paid £54,718 in tax, according to the [...]
UK employers cut jobs as tax hikes bite April 15, 2025 High wage growth persisted in the three months to February, official data has shown, but a rapid drop in payrolled employment pointed to concerning trends in the labour market. Annual growth in average weekly earnings excluding bonuses hit 5.9 per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Tuesday. But separate tax data showed [...]
‘State of despondency’ as tax raid sets up ‘harrowing year’ for firms April 15, 2025 Business leaders’ worries over Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ tax hikes have plunged corporate confidence into “ominous territory”, a leading business association has warned. The Chancellor launched a multi-billion pound tax raid on British businesses in the Budget last October, and a new report has suggested that the impact of the hikes is continuing to weigh on [...]
Trump’s tariffs to cause pandemic-level fall in trade April 14, 2025 President Donald Trump’s tariffs are set to knock trillions of dollars off world GDP, fresh forecasts suggest, as businesses reel from major disruption to global trading patterns. A spate of new tariffs on goods ranging from European cars to Chinese toys will take the US’ effective tariff rate from 2.5 per cent to over 20 [...]
Private school VAT case dragged back into court April 14, 2025 Parties involved in legal action over private schools fees have been recalled to court as government aims to make a report inadmissible.
Finance bosses predict sharpest hiring drop since 2020 after tariff uncertainty April 14, 2025 Finance bosses expect the sharpest decline in corporate hiring since the third quarter of 2020 as geopolitical risks escalate. A fresh report from Deloitte has showed signs of a waning job market with wage growth expect to slow from 3.6 per cent to three per cent. A net 14 per cent of chief financial officers [...]
Reeves unveils £500m support for tariff-affected small businesses April 13, 2025 Chancellor Rachel Reeves has launched a £500m plan to smaller businesses affected by US president Donald Trump’s tariffs. Run by the British Business Bank, the Growth Guarantee Scheme will now provide additional lending capacity for firms that will need support with cashflow issues due to changes in tariffs. Lending up to £2m per business group, [...]
UK growth in February smashes low expectations April 11, 2025 The UK economy grew by 0.5 per cent in February, official data has shown, beating forecasters’ expectations by a wide margin. A Bloomberg poll of economists predicted growth to come in at 0.1 per cent for the month. UK GDP grew 0.6 per cent in the three months to February, the Office for National Statistics [...]