UK economy ‘at risk of stagflation’ as growth stalls under Labour December 13, 2024 Latest official GDP figures show the UK economy has stopped expanding since Labour took power, creating a headache for Keir Starmer after putting growth at the centre of his government’s mission. The economy unexpectedly shrank by 0.1 per cent in October, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics. It missed economists’ expectations [...]
Cabinet Office to make hundreds of Civil Service redundancies December 12, 2024 Hundreds of jobs are set to be cut by the Cabinet Office, it has been confirmed, in a move which the government department said will create a “smaller, clearer structure”. A total of 400 jobs have been placed at risk at the department which is responsible for a range of functions across government. The Cabinet [...]
Currys reports £32m Budget tax hit December 12, 2024 Consumer electronics retailer Currys has become the latest company to warn about the impact of Labour’s tax raid on its bottom line. In its half-year results for the six months to 26 October 2024, published this morning, management said the estimated cost of recent tax policy changes could amount to as much as £32m. The [...]
2025 will be a year of green shoots for the City December 12, 2024 Changing mood music should gradually shift sentiment in London’s favour – and with the fire power of pension funds 2025 could be a better year than the City has seen in a while, says Steven Fine In New York, investors are in bullish form. I met one very well-known player recently who nearly knocked me [...]
Labour’s tax bombshell for high streets December 11, 2024 The government is rushing through business rates reforms for private schools without considering the wider implications for sectors we all rely on, says John Webber Twelve months ago, the Labour Party was still talking about scrapping business rates if it got into power. Whether that was a genuine plan or whether the £22m blackhole discovered [...]
Labour’s business backers – where are they now? December 10, 2024 Labour won the public backing of over 120 business chiefs in a letter before the election – but the enthusiasm of those executives appears to have dimmed since then. City AM tried to track them down. It was a letter that seemed to signal a tectonic shift in British politics when it landed in newspapers [...]
Reeves promises ‘deeper, more mature’ economic relationship with EU December 9, 2024 Rachel Reeves has pledged to build a “deeper, more mature relationship” with European trading partners in the first speech by a UK chancellor to eurozone finance ministers since 2020. Speaking to the Eurogroup in Brussels on Monday, Reeves also brushed off the suggestion that Britain must choose between closer ties with the US and EU [...]
No Christmas cheer for employers as 2024 draws to a close December 9, 2024 There are plenty of reasons to be cheerful at this time of year, but the state of the economy isn’t one of them. As Christmas trees go up and celebrations get underway, there are worrying signs that large parts of corporate Britain are preparing to end the year in a state of nervousness and pessimism. [...]
Job vacancies collapse as Budget tax raid puts firms off hiring, survey shows December 9, 2024 The latest report on jobs from KPMG and the REC showed an "accelerated decline" in the number of people placed in permanent roles by recruiters.
Boost ‘growth prospects’ with reset, Reeves to tell EU finance meeting December 8, 2024 Rachel Reeves will argue that a more business-like relationship with the EU can help Britain boost its “growth prospects”, at a meeting with the bloc’s finance ministers. Reeves will on Monday address the European Union’s financial heads in Brussels, becoming the first Chancellor to do so since Brexit, ahead of her next overseas visit to [...]