Business confidence plunges to lowest level since Liz Truss’s mini-budget January 15, 2025 Rachel Reeves’s tax hikes have pushed business confidence to its lowest level since the wake of Liz Truss’s calamitous mini-Budget, as firms fret over a surge in costs and slowdown in the domestic economy, a closely watched survey has suggested. Concerns over a looming tax bill and a slump in sales caused business confidence to [...]
Most retailers will hike prices in response to Reeves’ NI Budget raid January 15, 2025 Two thirds of CFOs have said their business will be forced to raise prices as a result of higher wage bills, according to a new survey. Around 70 per cent of respondents to the survey, which looked at the attitudes of CFOs at 52 retailers, were “pessimistic” or “very pessimistic” about trading conditions over the [...]
Roundhead Reeves is effectively banning nightclubs through tax January 15, 2025 There has been an alarming decline in people going to nightclubs and Rachel Reeves growth-killing, fun-banning Budget is partly to blame. Fortunately there are some simple solutions to bringing back the big night out, says James Price The philosopher Ted Mosby, in his magnum opus How I Met Your Mother, once opined that: “Nothing good [...]
‘Budget hasn’t worked’: Reeves defends China trip as Stride says Brits ‘deserve better’ January 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves has defended her trip to China amid economic turmoil in the UK as MPs argued her Budget “hasn’t worked” and insisted: “The British people deserve better.” The Chancellor appeared in the House of Commons for the first time since last week’s bond market shock threw her public spending plans and fiscal rules into [...]
Reeves is in a fiscal trap and spending cuts are the only way out January 14, 2025 Rachel Reeves’ Budget created a vicious circle whereby higher taxes increased borrowing costs, squeezing the public purse and further and tempting the Chancellor into further tax rises to meet fiscal targets. There is another way, says Darwin Friend Rachel Reeves is trapped in a vicious fiscal circle of her own making. Her high-tax budget, billed [...]
UK gilt auction oversubscribed as investors buy through market turmoil January 14, 2025 The auction comes ahead of crucial inflation data tomorrow.
‘Nothing off the table’: Public spending cuts to be ‘ruthless’, cabinet warned January 13, 2025 Public spending cuts are set to be “ruthless”, the Treasury has reportedly warned cabinet ministers. Departments will have to make “difficult” decisions on their budget priorities, according to an internal letter from No11 about the spending review, the Telegraph reported. While the Prime Minister’s official spokesman confirmed “there’s nothing off the table when it comes [...]
UK consumer confidence may struggle to ‘ride out’ uncertainty January 13, 2025 Consumer confidence ended 2024 on a high, but analysts have warned that it might not be able to ride out a wave of economic uncertainty this year. Confidence was at its highest since April 2021 in December, according to Yougov’s and CBRE’s monthly consumer confidence survey. Business activity, optimism about the future, and perceptions of [...]
Starmer declines to confirm Reeves will be Chancellor at next election January 13, 2025 Sir Keir Starmer has declined to confirm that Rachel Reeves will be Chancellor at the next general election. The Prime Minister was asked about Reeves’ role following a speech in London on artificial intelligence (AI) and insisted he was “completely confident” in her. However, he declined to guarantee she would still be in post at [...]
CBI chair Rupert Soames: Reeves has created a ‘hole in the trust of business’ January 13, 2025 Rachel Reeves has created a “hole in the confidence and trust of business” by using the private sector to fill a £22bn hole in the government’s finances, the chair of the UK’s top business body has said. Rupert Soames, chair of the Confederation of British Industry, said the Chancellor had “bruised” British companies after rolling [...]